The Heart Has a Mind of Its Own--Part 1

The Heart Has a Mind
Of Its Own
by
Kay Frances Graves

Part 1: The Heart of Man and the Heart of God

Introduction

Recently scientists have discovered that even before the brain is formed in the unborn child, the heart is beating with an intelligence of its own. In fact, the heart is wired with a “brain” that is busy sending signals to the rest of the body directing the development and growth of the child in the womb.

The information sent from the heart to the brain can have a profound effect on the various functions of the brain, including its concept of God.  Exactly how the heart influences our spiritual life and connection with God, however, remains a mystery to modern science.

Nevertheless, the Word of God has proclaimed from the beginning that the heart was designed by our Creator to have a mind of its own.

The Heart of Man and the Heart of God

The first mention of the word, “heart,” is found in the Book of Genesis, Chapter 6. Is this just poetic imagery or is God giving us the foundation here for understanding the spiritual function of our heart? Could it be that He is also revealing His own heart to us through this passage?

And God saw
that the wickedness of man
was great in the earth,
and that every imagination
of the thoughts
of his heart
was only evil continually.

And it repented the LORD
that he had made man on the earth,
and it grieved him
at his heart. 
-Genesis 6:5-6

First of all, God is confirming in this passage that we are made in His image. Just as God has a heart, man also has a heart. Throughout the Bible, God instructs us concerning the differences and similarities of our heart and His.

The new scientific discovery regarding the function of the heart verifies that this physical organ has a mind of its own and through the Word of God we realize that it is His intention that we understand and resonate with the way God thinks and feels in His heart.

We also learn in this first passage that it is possible for the heart of man to engage in thoughts and that these thoughts originate in our heart. This passage reveals that during the time of Noah, hearts had become so corrupt; mankind had reached the point of no return. Everyone on the face of the earth actually became incapable of thinking anything good at all—everyone, that is, except Noah and his family.

God has a pure and holy heart filled with perfect love. When His creation becomes corrupt and His intention for mankind is spoiled, God grieves in His heart. Grieving suggests mourning a loss, which is very fitting in these verses.

God deserved to have men glorify Him with the lives they lived. He created them to love Him and enjoy Him forever. God did not design humans to be robots and He was not going to force His creation to love Him. He wanted to experience receiving their love and allowing them to be blessed through their experience of loving Him.

So humans were given the freedom to choose. Unfortunately almost everyone in those days chose to follow their corrupt hearts and turn against the love and blessings of God.

Though men were made in the image of God, they did not desire to walk in the likeness of God. Instead, His created beings trampled the gift of their Maker, chose to go their own way, and rejected the image they were created to bear.

Man was so wonderfully and lovingly fabricated by the hand of God. Man had so much potential. What a waste! What rejection of God and the blessings He had desired to bestow upon His people!

When we read this passage, do we feel God’s loss and the rejection He experienced?

Do we sympathize and empathize with Him?

If so, we are beginning to line our heart up with God’s heart and like the children we were created to be, are attempting to walk in His shoes. Our ability to feel God’s pain is the first step in learning to love Him and understand His love for us.

The world labels those who are unable to feel the pain of others as “sociopaths.” They are people without a conscience. They don't have the natural affection or empathy the rest of us take for granted. They don't feel affection. They don't care about others.

However, most of them are good observers, and they have learned how to mimic feelings of affection and empathy remarkably well so are often difficult to detect.

The world says that such people are incurable, but all things are possible with God. If you know of someone like this, do not be caught in their trap by your good intentions. Nevertheless, pray for them, but at the same time guard your heart with all diligence when dealing with them.

If you should recognize somehow, by the grace of God, that you are a person who is having difficulty empathizing with others, pray for God to help you and to save you from yourself and your own path of eternal destruction. Ask Him, in the name of Jesus Christ, to help you trust Him with your life and pray that He will give you a new heart.

Without the heart’s capacity to feel and to identify with God’s thoughts and feelings, it is impossible to have the type of belief in God that will result in eternal life. We must realize that we love Him because He first loved us and that He had, and still has, a wonderful plan for our lives.

There isn't anything we can do to earn this relationship with Him. The love we have for Him, isn't really even a choice we make, it is a response our heart makes because our heart somehow understands what He has done for us. Even this ability to understand and respond is a gift from God and is totally a result of His grace working in us.   
 
                      To receive this free gift
                               of eternal life,
                   scroll to the top of this page,
                              click on the gift
                    wrapped in gold on the left,
                         follow the instructions
                           with a sincere heart
                                        AND
                               . . .Be ready. . .
                     . . .Jesus is coming soon. . .
                         . . .and very soon ! . . .