Heart Examinations
“Examine my heart, Oh God.” Psalm 26:2
Years ago, the comedian Jack Paar got to the
heart of our problem one day when he said, in looking back and thinking about
his life, "I see that
my life is one big obstacle race; I have been its chief obstacle. I have even
been the one who''s caused myself the great problems that I’ve known, the
heartbreaking sorrow that I''ve known, no one else but me, I’m the one who has
done that."
Go to Genesis, back in the first part of the
Old Testament, and there you find the source of our problems. We human beings, from Adam and Eve down
through the generations, generation after generation, have forgotten some of
the most important things. We have forgotten
our Creator. We have forgotten our calling. We have forgotten the destiny which
God intended for us. God created us to serve Him and love Him, created us to
serve others and to love them. Sometimes, it requires that we do a heart
examination as David asked of God when he wrote, ““Examine my heart, Oh God.” (Psalm 26:2) Only when we realize that that are hearts are
desperately lacking can we discover how God offers us new life.
Dr. Christian Bernard tells of one of his
heart-transplant patients who asked to see his old heart which had been
removed. Obligingly the
doctor brought from the laboratory a large bottle where the old organ had been
placed. As the man looked at the big muscle which once pumped life through his
body, the famed surgeon suddenly realized that this was the first time in human
history that a person had ever seen his own heart. It was a historic moment,
but for the patient it must have been a keenly sensitive sensation, for the old
heart had worn out and failed him. Now the old heart had been replaced by a new
one, and without it his life would now be extinct. After gazing for a long
moment at the old heart, the grateful patient looked up at the doctor and said,
"I'm glad that I don't have that old heart anymore."
The saddest things in
life is that some people never stop to do a grace examination. People take every kind of exam including
school exams, heart exams, and they even examine evidence in court. But many people don’t realize that the great
gift of grace is only available for those who admit they need it. It’s only in that place do we find ourselves
realizing our need for grace
This is the new life that Christ imparts to
every person who is justified by faith and experiences the new birth. All of us desperately need a conversion that
shatters the old life and makes all things new! That is why it is imperative
that we know it is always an inside job.
But instead we
decided to cut ourselves off from God; we decided to ignore God''s purposes for
us; we decided to go out on our own to be God in our own lives and do things
our way, and therefore we have cut ourselves off from the grace and mercy of
our Creator.
Are you willing to examine your heart today?
At the same time, are willing to receive His grace. Built within our culture is a
desire to handle things on our own.
From the time we are little, we are in process of becoming independent
There are many things that we are sufficient to do. But a relationship with God is not one of
them. When we exam our hearts, It
starts to reveal things about us and about God. Most importantly that God still
loves you. There is nothing you can do
to stop it. There is nothing more you
can do to increase it or decrease it. I
guess that’s why they call it “grace.”
Terry Risser
Reflections:
1) When did you first allow God to look into
your heart? What did you find?
2) How did grace change it?
Consider reading the Word today:
Copyright
2014- Terry Risser
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