Reforming the Heart
The heart is the very center of our mind, will, and emotions. Its motions and postures initially hide beyond our conscious awareness. As we grow in intimacy and identity with Christ, we gain a progressive understanding of the richness and complexity of the human heart. This understanding is the root of all wisdom, which allows us to deeply understand ourselves and other people. The heart is our life-source (Proverbs 4:23). Understanding it unleashes the resurrection life of Jesus in us and through us.
Imagine every human heart as an altar. On this altar lies our deepest beliefs, convictions, and desires. This is the place of inner spiritual worship beyond our conscious awareness. Whatever we worship on the altar of our inner man will find expression in our thoughts. Our thoughts express themselves in words and actions. Our words and actions, therefore, become the final expression of our spiritual worship.
This truth is articulated by Jesus throughout the Gospels (Luke 6:45; Matthew 15:18-19; Mark 7:21). In Matthew, when Jesus says that “Any man who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery in her heart,” He is not making a statement about the impossibility of avoiding sexual sin, but making plain a spiritual reality that is already taking place in the heart. He is drawing the connection between spiritual worship and natural manifestation.
Upon receiving Christ, the Holy Spirit is poured into our hearts (Romans 5:5). We step into the reality of our New Creation identity in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). We have been given His fullness, made complete by our union with Christ (Colossians 2:10). This is the empowering and precious gift of the gospel. Our old nature has been crucified with Christ and the life we live is now empowered by His indwelling Presence (Romans 6:6; Galatians 2:20). The sin nature is dead, and no longer holds any power over us (Romans 6:7-11). John tells us, “As He is in this world, so are we” (1 John 4:17). We are walking the earth with Jesus Himself, who is actively working in us and through us. This is our biblical, objective, reality.
If this is our Truth, why do we experience the Christian lifestyle so differently than Jesus did? The key is our mind, which is the connector between the spiritual realm and natural realm. Renewing the mind brings us deeper and deeper into living the reality of Jesus’ faith as our own (Romans 12:1-2; Ephesians 4:23-24). God’s intent with the process of renewing our minds is to expose and destroy any spiritual idols left on the altar of our hearts. This process progressively conforms us to the image of His Son. God is a jealous God. He wants to be our only source of strength, identity, and power.
When the Holy Spirit begins to address these false beliefs, He will bring them into our conscious awareness. Our mind then becomes the battleground, where we must continually address the lies with the reality of His Word, by the power of His Spirit. These experiences grow our faith by teaching us trust. We learn the reality of His character through a spiritual and emotional encounter with the living God. Our battles reveal more clearly the power and closeness of the indwelling Christ.
As the Lord reforms our heart, we begin to notice changes in the way we think. We are waking up to the reality that we share the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). As our thinking changes, so do our words, actions, and personality. Even our bodies change. We begin to look, sound, and act like Christ. We shine like the sun in the advancing kingdom of heaven (Matthew 13:43). We step into the fullest expression of who Christ intends us to be.
Christ’s goal in the reform of our hearts is for us to fully realize, in the deepest part of us, our union with Him. His desire is to break every heart idol and bring us progressively into peace and life. Jesus is our Sabbath rest.
