Heart part 5
Your heart is the most important part of you. It is the part of you that makes you... you. Because that true you comes from the heart. Who you really are flows from deep within. That's why its so important to keep your heart with all diligence. To make sure you're keeping your heart... by keeping it open. Not shutting it down because you've been burned before and you don't want to get burned again. I know its hard to reach out once you've been slapped down. But I'm telling you, its worth it. You have to go out on a limb sometimes, because that's where the fruit is. The fruit of the Spirit. Which is love. So let me say it like this: If you want love, you have to give love. Because love is giving. The best (perhaps the only) way to feel love is to love people. To share that connection. That relationship. That's why the Bible speaks of it being more blessed to give than to receive. I've said it many times: You can give without loving, but you can't love without giving. Love IS giving. And love comes from the heart. Love is who we really are. We are expressions of the God who is love. He expresses Himself TO us, and He expresses Himself THROUGH us! It all flows from the heart. That's what I'm trying to say to end this Rant series. Everything that is important, everything that matters, comes from the heart. The issues of life, right? "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life" (Proverbs 4:23). The Amplified Bible says it like this, "Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life." The Message Bible says it like this, "Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that's where life starts." I like that. Watch your heart. Because your heart will lead you and guide you, if you let it. The Word of God (which is Jesus, which is love) will be a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path... if you let it. Follow your heart. Trust your gut. Sometimes your heart will smite you, and that's ok too. That's when its time to reevaluate. That's when its time to get back on the straight and narrow path that leads to life. Your heart is where life starts. Jesus came that we might have life and that more abundantly. Its all about love. Which means its all about life. Because to live is to love and to love is to live. They aren't just connected. They are the same thing. A life well lived is a life in which you gave as much love as possible. That's the New Commandment, right? To love one another as Jesus has loved you. To receive and release His love. To let what's inside flow out by filling yourself to overflowing with it by knowing and believing that its in there. The heart is so important. So keep it and guard it. Make sure it stays open. Keep vigilant watch over it. Keep an eye on it, so you can know where to go. What to do. Do small things with great love. Do ALL things with great love. Do it heartily. To the best of your ability. Because its in your heart to do it. Don't try to be someone you're not. Listen to your heart and be who you are with every beat of GOD'S heart in your chest!