Jesus Turned Heads and Hearts!

What Did Jesus Do?

From that time Jesus began to preach, saying
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Matthew 4:17

Before she left for work this morning my wife informed me that she had decided on two New Year’s Resolutions for us. I suspect that we are not the only ones considering some changes for 2012. Of course, if I could somehow arrange to collect just a nickel from every American who makes and then fails to follow through on New Year’s Resolutions, I would be a wealthy man. It is good for us to examine our lives, and to resolve to make changes where needed. But if our heart is not committed to change, it doesn’t matter how much our head tries to keep us on track, especially if we are talking about a serious about face. If, however, the call to change, to make a 180 degree turnabout, comes from the Lord, we can be confident of success, because when Jesus turns lives around, he turns heads and hearts!

Matthew introduces the public ministry of Jesus with a summation of the Lord’s preaching (4:17). The message is a call to make a “180,” to turn one’s life in the totally opposite direction from that in which it is headed (This is the literal meaning of “repent”), and be reoriented away from the world and toward the kingdom of heaven. Trouble is, who among us is capable of so abruptly and so sharply turning our life around? Considering how many far less ambitious resolutions fall by the wayside every year, I daresay that none of us is capable of repenting, of so radically reorienting our lives on our own. We can resolve in our mind that change is necessary, but if our heart isn’t in it our head can only move us so far. In fact, if our heart doesn’t lead the way, our will head not long stay the course of turning towards the kingdom. Thankfully, Jesus turns heads and hearts.

Think about the calling of the first disciples, as Matthew reports it in 4:18-22. Two sets of brothers, all fishermen of Galilee, dropped their nets the instant Jesus called them to “Follow me.” There was no making up of the mind for Simon, Andrew, James, or John. Christ called to their hearts, and immediately their hearts responded, and they left all they had been doing, all that they had known, and followed the Lord. Considering what following Jesus would soon enough require of the disciples, they would have quickly fallen away if their heads alone considered the consequences. But when Jesus comes and calls, he turns heads and hearts.

With a little more than a day left until 2012 gets underway, many of us may well have a resolution or two in mind. Rather than a lot of us starting well, and failing fast, in making any changes or course corrections our minds may tell us are important, may I suggest that we first bring our hearts to the Lord, and ask him to begin there to make the changes in us that he desires, most especially to orient us more surely towards the kingdom of heaven in the new year? If Jesus turns our heart, then our mind will surely come about. With heads and hearts turned, and following Jesus wherever he leads us throughout the coming twelve months, we will assuredly head in a different direction, and arrive at a different place next December, from where any of our best intentioned resolutions can bring us, even if we could manage to stick to them. The plain truth is, lives change radically when Jesus turns heads and hearts.


S.D.G.

Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4