This week many people will prepare for Valentine’s Day. Traditionally, the day is devoted to celebrating the romantic love of one’s life. Some have expanded the concept to include children and other significant persons in their lives, showering them with candy, flowers, and other expressions of love. One of the icons of Valentine’s Day is a red heart. Biologically, the heart is the organ that keeps us alive. If our heart stops beating, there is a strong possibly that we have passed on to the other side. We learn in this verse that David, King Saul’s replacement, had a heart for God: “But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command,” I Samuel 13:14. We have to have a heart for God. We have to love God with our hearts.
Having a heart for God does not mean that our hearts will not get broken. But there is healing for a broken heart. Hearts get broken. If our heart is not into something (no matter how much we try or have the skills to do it), it will not work out. We will be unhappy doing it. We have to have heart for what we are doing. My son plays golf, and he has a heart for the game. He is willing to practice for hours in the rain and cold, and he wants to play golf every chance he gets. When he cannot play or practice, his heart is broken. He has heart for the game. A pastor cannot be an effective pastor unless he/she has a heart for the members. When members leave or rebel, the pastor’s heart breaks. A mother or father cannot be a good parent unless they have heart for their children.
When the children fall off the wagon, it breaks the heart of the parent. President Barack Obama could not be the leader he is unless he had a heart for America. If we did not support him, his heart would break. Jesus went to the cross because he had a heart for you and me. When we disobey and lose faith in him, heaven’s heart breaks. We have to have heart for some things and people (other than ourselves), so that we can do what we have been called to do and live the life of passion God has called us to live. When we open our hearts in this way, our hearts will be broken in the process. We will have disappointments, things may not go our way, challenges will arise, and we will be tempted to lose heart for what God called us to do.
The good news is that if we truly have a heart for God, God will mend our broken hearts. God knows that our hearts are critical to our spiritual living, Like the human heart pumps blood throughout our bodies, collecting waste and carrying oxygen to our muscles, our spiritual hearts will pump the blood of Jesus throughout. That blood will cleanse the bad stuff, pick up the good stuff and carry it to every area of our lives where we need strength. There is healing for a broken heart.
