Last week Margie and I took the ferry from Cozumel island over to the Mexican mainland, the city of Playa Del Carmen our destination. Playa del Carmen receives much more rain than Cozumel, as a result we have enjoyed not only a change of scenery but a change of weather. As I write this, I am sitting outside listening the gentle patter of rain upon palm leaves high above me. It is wet, still, green and enchanting.
A few nights ago, at dinner, a sudden shower fell as we ate. As we were walking through the grounds back to our room, I noticed the fresh rainwater had gathered upon some glass top tables in the outside seating area. The gentle rain had gathered in big fat droplets upon the glass, water beads forming an interesting array of shapes and globules. I stopped and snapped a quick photo wondering what it would reveal. When I downloaded it onto my laptop for closer inspection, what I found amazed me. The water revealed colors and prisms that the naked eye could not see. As I zoomed and enhanced, the colors snapped to life. You see, the colors were always there, they had always existed. But in the initial moment of encounter, only with my naked eye, I was oblivious to see the depth of what was really there. Friends, it is no different with the human heart. We have a propensity for sin, debauchery, and evil that was given to us at birth. And the trials and temptations of this world will reveal the true colors that lie just below the surface of our hearts.
Today in 1 Kings chapter 13 we see three hearts. They all vary and for our classification purposes we will label them as good, bad and indifferent. The thing that strikes me though is how exactly can three hearts be so different? I mean if I had a surgeon open up the chest cavity of each, I’m positive he would find the same identical fleshly muscle. He would find four valves within an amazing organ that pumps over 2,000 gallons of blood a day. A heart is a heart. So why is it that some people have such an amazing propensity for evil and some such a yearning for good? Regardless of this particular philosophical discussion, I think we can agree that there are times in a life that will, like a magnifying glass, amplify what’s really in that heart.
We first revisit one of the kings of the newly split Israelite kingdom, Jeroboam. We saw in chapter 12, that the color of his heart was quite dark. We saw him blatantly refuse wise counsel from his elders and instead follow his young buddies’ crass ideology to treat his constituents cruelly. Soon after we saw a leader that would rather lead his people into idolatry than see them migrate southward to offer proper sacrifices at the temple in Judah. We then saw him break just about every rule God had about worship. He chose his own priests that were not from the tribe of Levi, he offered sacrifices himself as a high priest, and he also allowed anyone to be a priest, regardless of history, or belief in God. Today we see a continuation of his behavior. God sends a man of God, a prophet, to warn and rebuke him. His reaction? He tries to kill the prophet. The exchange that happens is quite amusing in its justice, be sure and check it out.
The prophet that God sends to warn Jeroboam is unnamed. We do see that he comes all the way from the southern kingdom of Judah, a sign that apparently it was quite difficult to find a man of God in Jeroboam’s kingdom. The man of God has one simple task. To fulfill what God has asked him to do in absolute obedience. Folks, have you ever noticed that a good heart is a simple heart? That doing good is much easier than doing bad. Telling the truth is much easier than dealing with the amazing complications of telling a lie. Dealing honestly with others allows you the comfort of not always looking over your shoulder for the one you wronged. Being right with God, listening to His Words and simply being obedient to what He asks, is indeed a simpler life. The man of God is obedient to God and as a result, we see God infiltrate his heart and take control. A heart that is given to God is indeed a heart that can beat righteously before Him.
But we see yet another man of God in our chapter. This one is unnamed as well, but he is the most difficult to classify. We are told he is an “old prophet that lives in Bethel.” We have no reason to believe that he was in any way out of favor with God, in disobedience to God, or fostering a contemptuous heart. But what if I were to say to you that he does more harm in our chapter than anyone? God had given the good prophet a clear set of instructions, go deliver God’s message to king Jeroboam and then leave immediately. While there, do not eat anyone’s bread, do not go into anyone’s home and take another route to go back home. But on his way back home, the old prophet of Bethel finds him tired and exhausted, sitting under an oak tree. Even though the good prophet clearly tells him of his instructions from God, the old prophet feigns a false message from God and convinces him to come back to his home and be refreshed. The closing to the story is tragic, as disobedience to God always is.
Three hearts, three stories, three paths. One of absolute rejection of God, one of absolute obedience to God, and one that wades into the muddy waters in between. I’m sure none of the three woke up that morning and expected their day to include judgements from God, miracles of cursing and healing, and death but they all happened. And it was in the midst of these that we saw the existing colors of those hearts magnified.
Folks, today, what is the true color within your heart. Is their anger, frustration, and resentment just waiting to boil to the surface? We see countless issues of road rage, mask rage and rioting in our world today, examples of hearts that are so full of seething fury that they are like a volcano just waiting to erupt. Their true colors lie just below the surface, just waiting for a reason to appear. But yet, we also see just the opposite exist today. Hearts that are ready to do good. Hearts that are ready to help. Hearts that are ready to love, support, assist and encourage. Folks, the difference between these hearts is founded upon one thing. What have you done with Jesus Christ?
You see, the human heart left unchanged, will remain constant. It will remain the way it was born, a heart bred to foster and embrace sin. A heart that inherited a sin nature from the very beginning, when a simple disobedient bite was taken. But the human heart can change. The color of the heart does not have to be dull and drab, it can be bright, brilliant and bold. God knew the condition of our heart and He made a way for it to be changed. He made a way for our hearts to encounter His in Heaven. He sent His only Son here to live, die and be raised again…all so that our hearts could be more like His.
Today you can invite the single biggest change of your life, you can change the color of your heart. Admit that your sin has stained your heart. Admit that the precious blood of Jesus can remove that stain. Ask Jesus to come into your heart and change it with His unconditional love, grace, and mercy. All you have to do is ask, He is faithful to save all that call upon His name. And as you do, you will experience one of the greatest miracles that has ever existed. God will gift you with His Holy Spirit. The very Spirit of God will move into a previously dark heart and change it to one that glows in the rich and lustrous jewel tones of Heaven.
Refuse to walk in anger, hatred and selfish pride any longer. Today allow Jesus to change the very way your heart beats. Allow it not to beat for yourself or this world, but for Him. For in this way, and only in this way, you can allow Jesus to be amplified through your life into this dark world.
Let the light of Jesus shine.
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