Your words reveal your heart
by Pastor Stephen Abraham
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In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1).
Read John 1:(1–9) 10–18
A wise mentor once said something to me that forever changed how I interact with people. It went something like this: ‘As soon as someone opens their mouth and speaks, they reveal their heart, identity, desires and what is important to them. So, beware of opening your mouth!’
To a degree, this revelation made me mindful of what I actually say in the presence of others, particularly those I first meet or don’t know well! And it made me aware of how unmindful many of us are when we open our mouths to speak (or, in this age of social media, choose to write a comment!).
If this saying, ‘Your words reveal your heart’, is correct, then for me, it unlocks something special for us in today’s reading.
Something that characterised the Israelite/Jewish faith as distinct from other Near Eastern religions of the time is that it wasn’t a faith that used idols or images to access God. Instead, it was a faith based on words. God is not accessed through a golden calf, an Asherah pole or a carved idol. God’s throne on earth – the Ark of the Covenant – is empty! God is too ‘otherworldly’ to view physically. The Israelites don’t bow down to an idol. They bow down to the hidden God who speaks. The access point? God’s name. In Genesis 1, this God who speaks creates everything with the power of his words.
Much wiser people than me have dissected, pondered and analysed the first chapter of John’s Gospel. But what strikes me is that if spoken words embody a person’s mind and will – something that reveals someone’s true heart – then what is God’s heart? What happens when God speaks to us in this New Testament, this New Covenant, this new epoch – what is revealed? What is God’s final word to us, to creation, to the universe?
John calls us back to Genesis chapter 1 with these opening words, ‘In the beginning … ’.
But there is just one word spoken, one verbal embodiment of the Living God, a word so powerful that the embodiment is more than just verbal: it’s an actual physical ‘person’.
One word: Jesus. ‘The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us’ (John 1:14). Want to see God? Look at Jesus. Want to hear God speak? Listen to Jesus’ words. Want to touch God? Jesus is with us ‘in the flesh’ each Sunday as we commune. God’s heart is revealed in the ‘Word made flesh’, the person Jesus Christ.
Almighty and ever-living God, thank you for revealing your heart to us in the person of your Son Jesus. Lord Jesus, thank you for coming to dwell with us and revealing the Father’s heart of love for us in your act of redemption on the cross. Holy Spirit, come and dwell within my heart and blow away the cobwebs of my brokenness. Speak to us, O Living God. We are listening. Amen.
Stephen Abraham is a musician and Lutheran pastor who retired early due to a spinal injury that leaves him largely housebound with chronic pain (documented by Lutheran Media on its Messages of hope YouTube channel and radio program). As his condition allows, Stephen still preaches, takes chapel and serves his local church and school. He also writes and records personal songs, worship songs and Christian meditations, which he shares on his YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/StephenAbrahamMusic
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