Matters of the heart

MATTERS OF THE HEART

 

Stop bringing meaningless offerings! ...They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them (Isaiah 1:13a, 14b).

 

            WHEN GOD PLANNED all the rituals and ceremonies that made up the Old Testament law, I think He meant for them to provoke thought and stir the hearts of the people involved. He wanted His children to understand that the sins they committed had consequences, and perhaps the time they spent waiting to make their atonement would give them time to think about what they did and what their actions cost others.

            He wanted the ceremonial offerings to give His people a chance to reflect upon His goodness and be thankful for what He had done for them. He wanted them to rejoice in being able to offer praise to Him through their rituals.

            But the people of that day were guilty of the same thing we are guilty of today: ritual. God didn’t need the elaborate ceremonies back then. The people needed them. But they became consumed with the actions and forgot to focus on the heart of the matter. And we are just as guilty. We go to church, read our Bibles, participate in small groups…but God doesn’t care about any of that if our hearts aren’t in it. He wants us to think about what we do and why we do it. And He wants us to throw our whole hearts into every aspect of the way we live.

 

—Rebekah J. Freelan

 

Whatever you do—is your heart in it?