If others could look into our hearts, what would they see?

God looks at the heart, and what does He see there?

In the days of Jesus, people did not see an external glory in Jesus' life. But if the door of His heart had suddenly been opened, they would have been blinded by the exceedingly abundant glory that could be found there. They would have seen the Son of God wandering about in the palace of His heart in power and glory.

What impression would people get if they could suddenly look into our thought life, into the chambers of our heart? If they could go from room to room, what would they see?

The walls of your heart

Would the hearts of your opponents melt if they could look into the prayer chamber of your heart and see the walls deeply engraved with names, and also find their own names deeply engraved with love and care? Or would they perhaps only find the names of your own family members and a few others written on the walls? Would they look into a dark and cold room where they could barely see the remains of some names that had been erased? Or would they be struck with amazement as they came into a chamber of peace and felt the blessed heavenly peace that was there?

How would it be if they looked into the halls of righteousness and love? Would they see the walls covered with all kinds of awful idols just like the elders of Israel had in their hearts? (Ezekiel 8:10 and Ezekiel 14:3) Or would they see the walls covered with the laws of love and righteousness, engraved with Jesus’ own hand, and would they see the Father and the Son sitting at your side having communion with you? (Hebrews 10:16; John 14:23; Revelation 3:20)

Keep your heart with all diligence

Unfortunately, there are many dismal and dangerous hearts. All sorts of ugly, creeping things jump out if you leave the door ajar just a little bit. Poisonous asps stick out their tongues and spray their deadly poison around. It would be good if such hearts bore large, clear warning signs, because their entire surroundings are extremely dangerous due to their many nasty traps.

But, it is clear that our hearts do not need to be like this. Instead, we are exhorted to “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.” Proverbs 4:23.

A habitation of peace

Yes, God can do great things with a human being. He can save, re-create, and transform us. He can cleanse our hearts and adorn the dwelling of our hearts with the most precious things. We carry this house with us wherever we go; it is a habitation of peace in the midst of this restless and anxious world. It is a dwelling that no power on earth can enter or destroy against our will.

This article is an edited version of the article “The dwelling place of our heart,” originally published in 1947 in the BCC periodical “Skjulte Skatter” (“Hidden Treasures”)
© Copyright Stiftelsen Skjulte Skatters Forlag