But I Know His Heart

They were telling a small group of us what had happened. We could sense their hurt and frustration. We sympathized with them. What made it more personal was that we all knew the person they were talking about. Then someone in our group, who knew the person very well, spoke up,

“But I know his heart. You’re misunderstanding him.”

That simple statement changed the whole conversation. And as it turns out, there was a huge misunderstanding that was eventually worked out.

It’s one thing to know who someone is, and another thing to know his or her heart. When someone says they know a person’s heart, it means they have an intimate understanding of how the person thinks, feels, reacts, what they value, what they like or dislike, etc., and therefore are able to predict what the person would do or say.

Who knows God’s heart?

God’s power is revealed in creation. His holiness is revealed in the law. His awe and splendor are revealed in such descriptions as Isaiah 6, or Revelation 1. But God’s heart is revealed in Jesus.

“No one has ever seen God. But [Jesus], who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.” (John 1:18, NLT)

The Jews knew who God was, but they only understood God as distant and unapproachable. The letter had rule. Law, regulation, and sacrifice, were the operative words. But Jesus comes and reveals the grace, love, and tenderness of the Father.

Paul puts it this way,

“For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’” (Romans 8:15)

When people talk about why Jesus came to earth, answers often include statements about the “sin problem” and fulfillment of the law, which are true. However, what Paul is describing in Romans 8:15 is something so personal, so compassionate, so incredible, that it causes the recipient to cry out, “Abba Father,” or, “Papa God.”

Jesus called his disciples and he did incredible things with them, but he also ate with them, slept with them, walked with them, talked with them. He then told his disciples,

“I’m going to prepare a place where we can be together forever…and if you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father” (John 14:3, 9)

The truth is that Jesus came to earth because it’s God’s heart to be with us, eat with us, sleep with us, walk with us, and talk with us, to live with us!

We need to be reminded of God’s heart because there’s a tendency for us to let law, regulation, and sacrifice creep back into our lives. Things start to become routine and religious, rather than relational and heartfelt. Soon God seems distant and unapproachable. It’s possible to know God and to serve God, but to loose the kind of fellowship He wants to have with you.

So if you’re being tempted to feel like God has distanced Himself from you, you’re misunderstanding Him…I know His heart.