WITHIN US ALL is an enigmatic consciousness that tells us who we are, if we are able to listen. Figuratively speaking, this is the center of our being, not physically, but instead, the strange space where our soul and spirit are fused. It is the locus within where identity resides, and from where thought is formed and self-talk is a constant conversation. This is the place where we sort out our moment-by-moment response to life. In Jewish and Christian concepts alike, it is the voice from the heart that motivates our subconscious and conscious thoughts, and which then incites or inspires our external expressions of soul, spirit, and body. This is the very core of our unique existence, and so scripture says “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” (Prov. 4:23)
We are all born into the lower realm in the usual way, conceived by our mother and father and birthed as flesh animated by life. This life the bible calls *“sarx,” which in Greek thought is probably best described specifically as “our unredeemed mortal human state- that is the human body and its physical needs and desires that, if uncontrolled, lead toward selfish acts and motives.” More than this, biblically it also refers to a worldly set of core values. This gives us deeper insight into Jesus’ statement to the sleepy Peter at Gethsemane. “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matt. 26:41b) It is of this animating spirit, or heart, that God speaks of through the prophet Jeremiah: “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jer. 17:9)
In our life journey of self-discovery, common to all mankind, everyone who seeks an authentic life tries to understand the voice of the heart. We listen to it intently, trying to interpret its speech, or attempt to train it from without through the consciously applied selective stimulus of experience or education. To greater or lesser degree, this intentional path leads to self-improvement. But it is only God who can bring to bear a creative force from beyond human control to re-inform the heart of its original identity, and from there to reform the heart. The voice from his heart says, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” (Eze. 36:26) The most radical way in which God informs us of this truth is through Jesus, who phrases it this way: “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You must be born again.” (John 3:6-7) And it is here that life’s true journey begins, once again as an infant.
The training of the heart requires instruction from the one who created the original heart of mankind, otherwise, the heart cannot speak in its true voice. And so God also says, “And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” (Eze. 36:27) Again, it is Jesus who furthers our understanding of this, and the probabilities of outcome. He connects our external actions to the heart, saying “The things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart.” (Matt. 15:18) That external manifestation of the heart can be for ill, or for good, so he completes the thrust of the Father’s earlier statement, saying “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)
Freedom itself—freedom of thought and emotion, conscious appreciation of the power over choice and outcomes—is a great gift to those who seek an authentic life. Those who can hear the heart’s true voice are truly blessed in the biblical sense by this emancipation.
But there is more, far more. The Father says, “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” (Jer. 17:10) That reward is not only salvation and glorification—the promise of heaven. It includes sanctification during the time below, and the ever-present guidance of the Holy Spirit. “The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” (John 14:26) Jesus confirms the long-standing promise of God spoken through Isaiah: “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’” (Isa. 30:21)
Q. Is God’s voice in my heart absent, a whisper, or clearly audible?
* Strong’s 4561.
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