When he was young, our grandson had a rainbow of interests, including drawing. In fact, he came away from a local art show with several awards for art for kids his age. Now that didn't come from his grandfather, I can tell you that. I think the lines are down somewhere between my brain and my hand. Something happened there; there's a malfunction! They make it from my brain to my mouth, but I can't... Well, I can't even draw a recognizable stick figure. Now, our grandson apparently had been watching how cartoonists and some caricaturists draw people. Because he really liked to draw some folks the same way they do-very little bodies and very big heads!
If God were to draw a picture of some of us church folks, He might just draw us the same way-a big, overdeveloped head and brain, but an underdeveloped heart. Because some of us have a head full of Jesus but not much in our heart. And there's nothing funny about that picture. There's something frightening about it.Because in Romans 10:10, our word for today from the Word of God, He says,
"It is with your heart that you believe and are justified."
"Justified" means made right with God, which is the only way you can ever have a relationship with God; the only way you can be with Him forever in heaven. And that miracle of having your sins all erased from His book and having your name entered in His Book of Life happens only when you put all your trust in Jesus with all your heart.
It may be that you've done all your believing in Jesus with your head. That's agreement with Jesus, but it's not commitment to Jesus. And it still leaves you lost, unforgiven, and unprepared for eternity.
You might be saying all the right words about Jesus, but He actually described people who "honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me" (Mark 7:6). In your mouth, but not in your heart. It's easy to think that because you know the words, you know the Lord. Not necessarily. Matthew 7 describes a Judgment Day scene where people will say all the right words but hear these words from Jesus, "I never knew you."
Other Christians may not even question whether or not you really know Christ, but see, they can only see what's on the outside. First Samuel 16:7 reminds us that "man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart." Again, what God cares about is what, or who is in your heart; not just in your head, or your mouth, or your religion or the impression you give.
Not long ago, a lady was training to be a counselor at a youth outreach where I was speaking. Our training video explained what Jesus did, and what we need to do in non-religious words. She told me, "I thought I was a Christian my whole life, but that night I suddenly realized all these years I had missed a step. I had never really pinned all my hopes on Jesus. I had never really opened my heart to Him as my personal Rescuer from my personal sin."
Could it be you've missed that step, too. It's hard to admit that, but it's deadly not to. What a horrific tragedy to have known the way to heaven and spend all eternity in hell, thinking about what might have been. But God in His mercy has kept you alive at least this long so you can finally move Jesus from your head to your heart, that eighteen inches that make all the difference between heaven and hell.
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