Community of the Heart

I had a quote on my tea bag the other day that says “Live from your heart, you will be most effective.” That’s some pretty big truth to swallow in a cup of tea. 

The heart is often pegged as an emotional weather system; ever changing and hard to forecast.  But, there is something important about our hearts that is easily bypassed in our daily lives.  In Waking the Dead, John Eldridge says “the glory of God is man fully alive” and more specifically, that man’s heart is fully alive. 

If our hearts can be fully alive, then the possibility exists that the heart can be partially alive or worse case scenario, dead.  It is tempting to live our lives apart from our heart.  Hearts can be messy.  Often, they have all these issues that have accumulated over the years and were never dealt with.  The issues come from experiences we’ve had that have led to lies we’ve believed.  On the surface it seems easier to ignore the heart issues and go on living life as if everything is fine.

But, everything is not fine if your heart isn’t alive.  The heart is too important to ignore!  The heart is the wellspring of life, the dwelling place of the Spirit, the pulse of your soul, the excitement of your passions and the expression of your love.  Your deepest desires, hopes and dreams exist in your heart.  Too often, these things remain in dark corners, hidden behind all the issues that fight for attention like a spoiled child.  The loud demands overtake the patient dreams waiting to be ignited. 

It is in your heart that God stores his deepest treasures.  And it is in the unification of hearts that community is formed and lives are changed.  Seek the community that God can use to help bring your heart fully alive.  The Body we are called to be a part of is not perfect and will likely bring pain at some point, but the power available to advance His Kingdom and experience Life to the fullest is worth any fleeting risk.