The Burning Heart

Inspired by what I read in Luke 24 of the Bible this morning, I decided to do a special Valentine's Day study of the heart. I wanted to examine the heart beyond its function as a bodily organ, so I began by taking a look at these definitions from Dictionary.com:

Heart

3.	the center of the total personality, esp. with reference to intuition, feeling, or emotion: In your heart you know I'm an honest man.

4.	the center of emotion, esp. as contrasted to the head as the center of the intellect: His head told him not to fall in love, but his heart had the final say.

5.	capacity for sympathy; feeling; affection: His heart moved him to help the needy.

6.	spirit, courage, or enthusiasm: His heart sank when he walked into the room and saw their gloomy faces.

7.	the innermost or central part of anything: Notre Dame stands in the very heart of Paris.

8.	the vital or essential part; core: the heart of the matter.

9.	the breast or bosom: to clasp a person to one's heart.

10.	a person (used esp. in expressions of praise or affection): dear heart.

In the passage of scripture I read today, two of Jesus' disciples are walking from Jerusalem to the village of Emmaus. It's the third day since Jesus has died and been buried, and the disciples are sad. They're walking along, talking about the events of the past few days, when who should join their little road trip, but Jesus! He disguises Himself and asks them why they're sad. What He's really doing is testing their faith.

The disciples, thinking Jesus is a newcomer to Jerusalem, tell Him all about "the mighty prophet" (already, they've begun to doubt Jesus is God). "He was condemned to death and crucified," they say. Knowing scripture and the prophecy of His resurrection, they add with disappointment, "Beside all this, today is the third day since these things were done."

They go on to tell Jesus some of His disciples found His tomb empty and saw angels, who testified that He is alive. Yet, the travelers still doubt, saying, "but him they (the other disciples) saw not."

Like most humans, they "have to see it to believe it."

IMHO, eyesight is highly overrated when it comes to seeing. There are other ways to "see". As Jesus demonstrates in the story, the eyes of faith are in the heart.

Beginning at Moses and all the prophets, Jesus explains to the travelers all the things concerning Himself in the scriptures. He reveals Himself through scripture, just as He does today. The disciples realize this later, because they say to each other, "Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?"

In addition to being a life-giving organ for our carnal bodies, the heart has great spiritual purpose. The muscle in our chests can only keep us alive for so long. The burning intuitive heart, when submitted to God, leads to righteousness and life everlasting.

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Romans 10:9,10

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