A heart in tune with God

‘Don’t you understand? Anything that goes into your mouth goes into your stomach and then on out of your body. But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these are the things that make you ritually unclean. For from your heart come the evil ideas which lead you to kill, commit adultery, and do other immoral things; to rob, lie, and slander others. (verses 17-19)

Read Matthew 15:10-28

Do you make special rules for yourself? Many Christians don’ t drink alcohol because they feel this helps those with an alcohol problem. Some people avoid particular foods during Lent to remind themselves of Christ’s sacrifice for them.

The problem with these things is that it’s all too easy to make them rules which everyone should follow. Jesus had a problem with the Pharisees in matters like this. They insisted on rigorous rules for ritual cleanliness and criticised those who didn’t observe them.

Jesus says that the important thing is our motivation. What comes from our hearts is what makes us clean or unclean. The heart is where our real nature can be found. We need to be very aware of this and very honest with ourselves. Jesus tells us that if we have our heart right – in tune with a Spirit who lives in us – then our external behaviour and traditions are more likely to be right too.

Father, help me to be aware of my motivation for doing things. May my life reflect the relationship I have with your Son through your Spirit. Amen

by Bob Turnbull, in ‘New Strength for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 1998)

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