Exploring God’s Heart

Exploring God’s Heart.

“O the depth of the riches and the wisdom and knowledge of God! What a deep wealth of wisdom and knowledge He has! How incomprehensible are His decisions, how unsearchable His judgments! How undiscoverable are His paths, how mysterious His ways, beyond finding out! Who has understood the mind of Yahweh? Who knows how the Lord thinks, or what His thoughts are? Can anyone discern the Lord’s intentions, His motivations? Who knows enough to give Him advice? Is there anyone qualified to be His counselor? Who has given Him so much that He needs to pay it back? Who could ever have a claim against Him? For everything was created by Him, everything lives through Him, and everything exists for Him; So to Him must be given the glory forever! Amen!” (Romans 11:33-36, also Isaiah 40:12-14).

WANTED: Adventurers who want to explore creation’s Final Frontier, the greatest Wonder of the World; must be extremely curious about the nature of God’s Being; motivated to know more about God than you know presently; inspired by the thrill of discovery;  need to be challenged and changed in the process of exploration; have the courage to step into a safe unknown; able to invest considerable mental energy to pursue life inside God with a mustard seed of trust in Him; be comfortable with the certainty of endless exploring; have the patience to pursue the quest one step at a time for as long as it takes; must explore with the vision of C. S. Lewis in his Narnia tales, “Further Up and Further In!”

Contemporary Frontiers. What are the most compelling frontiers in our world that we could explore… Outer space with its 100 billion galaxies, each of them having 100 billion stars? Inner space where protons and electrons and all the subatomic particles seeming to be dancing in joy? The ocean floors across the earth, 80% of which are unexplored? Or perhaps land areas such as remote mountain ranges, untraveled deserts, impenetrable jungles and rainforests, the frozen tundra of the Arctic, isolated islands in the middle of nowhere, or virgin caverns and caves that are largely hidden from humanity? These are all worthy frontiers, but there is a final frontier that tops them all… God. And whatever might be discovered about the Person of God, it’s only the tip of the eternal iceberg.

“I am inside My Father, and you are inside Me, and I am inside you.” (John 14:20).

The Heart is the Center. During the Biblical era, the heart was seen as the center of the body, so the reasoning was that therefore the heart was the center, the core, of every person. The heart was viewed as that which housed everything about a person that made him human… emotions, thoughts, motivations, inspirations. The heart was the central part of the inner life of each person, a home to the essence of each person, and represented a person’s personality, character traits, actions, thought process. The heart was the source of love and faith, as well as hate and sin.

God’s Heart-Home. With that in mind, God of course has a heart. The only reason each person has a heart is that we were all made in God’s image, therefore we all have an inner home within that operates as a source of what is true and distinctive about each of us. Yes, God has a heart that is bigger than the universe, an inner home that is able to contain everything and everyone. God had been on the lookout for a “person after God’s own heart” as He searched for a suitable King of Israel to replace Saul. (1 Samuel 13:14). The closest man God could find was David, but even the best of men are not perfect. But God knew all along that there was only one Man who would perfectly reflect His heart as a King… His Son Jesus. Jesus was the tangible image of the intangible God, and so it was Jesus who was perfectly able to reveal God’s heart on earth. If we wonder what makes God tick, that will remain a mystery. But Jesus did reveal the inside of God’s heart-home. So as we explore something as incomprehensible as the heart of God, at least, through Jesus, we have something to get us started. The heart of God… full of grace and truth.

Unions. Jesus fleshed out the spiritual heart of God, and in fact is somehow inside His Father’s heart. The Father is so intimately in union with the Son, that they are somehow inside each other. And going a step further, we are inside Jesus when we begin to trust in Him and accept Him into our own heart. In the kingdom of God, we find unions popping up everywhere… Christ inside the Father; the Father inside of Christ; Believers inside of Jesus, and at the same time Jesus inside of believers. “Dwell inside of Me, abide in Me, make yourself at home inside of Me, and I am inside of you.” (John 15). “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives continuously inside me, and I live inside of him.” (John 6:56). “God has given us His Spirit as proof that we live inside Him, and He inside us.” (1 John 4:13). “Those who obey God’s teachings remain inside Him, and He inside them.” (1 John 3:24).

Inside God. Even though the phrase “accept Jesus into our heart” is not in Scripture, we get the picture. Accepting Jesus into our hearts means we receive Him into the very core of our being, into the centerpiece of who we are, affecting everything about us. When we receive Jesus into our heart-home, our identity becomes His, the essence of our personhood is intimately wrapped into the essence of Christ’s Personhood. When we make our home in His home, He miraculously become a resident inside each of us as well. And when we experience that Double Union with Jesus Christ, we discover that our spiritual location is inside of the very heart of God. In other words, if the Son is inside the Father, and we are inside the Son, then logically we are inside the Father! By dwelling in the Son’s heart, we dwell in the Father’s heart as well. By living inside the “Person after God’s own heart,” we find ourselves inside God’s heart! As Paul claims in Colossians 3:3, believers are “hidden within Christ, inside of God.”

A House Tour. What should we expect to see inside of the heart of God? At this point, we can only imagine the interior of God’s house, but we have some clues. Scripture reveals some of Gods’ character through the ages, His personality, His actions, His Self-descriptions (Exodus 34). Through the Bible, we can even read a little bit of God’s eternal mind. And then of course, Jesus fleshed out God’s temperament and revealed much of God’s heart during His ministry on earth. May we be so bold as to take a guided tour through the home-heart of God in our imaginations? What would we expect to find waiting for us as we are escorted through the inner home of God?

My Heart is God’s Home, and God’s Heart is Our Home. Way back in 1954 there was a creative little evangelistic tract produced by Inter-Varsity Press, written by a pastor named Robert Boyd Munger. He entitled his brief tract, “My Heart – God’s Home.” I recommend it if you find it. Following up on Revelation 3:20, Pastor Munger imagined a believer opening his door and escorting Jesus through the home of his heart, now that Jesus has taken up residence in him. Now that Jesus dwells in him, and He has moved into his heart, what will Jesus see there? So the believer in the tract proceeds to give a tour of his heart-home with Jesus as he welcomes Christ into his heart. Together they tour the person’s study, dining room, living room, workroom, recreation room, bedroom and hall closet. I thought this was an engaging idea, but now I would like to give the other side of the story. Jesus lives within us, to be sure. But we also live within Jesus, hence inside the very heart of God. So if the Father was to give us a guided tour of His heart, what would we find? What will be waiting for us to discover in the many rooms of God’s heart? We could easily entitle this, “God’s Heart -My Home.”

Exploring God’s Heart-Home. Like anyone’s home, God’s heart will reflect His attitudes, motivations, personality, character traits, His heavenly “tastes” in interior décor. God’s deeply held convictions will be revealed in His heart-home, as they are in our own hearts. Using Scripture as our guide, we will explore God’s heart as we make ourselves at home and abide in Him.

The Front Porch. Before we even enter God’s house, we can’t help but notice in our approach a big sign on the front porch, “WELCOME.” The Lord seems to want for us to get that straight right from the beginning. God wants to reveal his generosity of spirit, His large-heartedness, and so He offers the best in hospitality. He makes His home available to literally everyone… Mi casa, su casa.  There are no signs prohibiting trespassers or salesmen. The front porch light is always on, and the rocking chairs are always available. God doesn’t want His home to exclude anyone who wants to enter His heart through the front door. (More on that special front door later). God’s heart delights in being a source of life for all who would have Him, and actually, even for those who don’t want Him quite yet. “He is not willing that any shall perish, but desires that all might come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9). And as Yahweh declared through His prophet Ezekiel, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his ways and live!” (Ezek. 33:4). God’s heart is big enough to house the world, and His home can accommodate the universe if it comes to that. God is the ultimate Mr. Hospitality.

The Key of David. Once someone has even the slightest interest in the Lord, interested enough to stand on the front porch of His heart-house, this person will be directly facing a beautiful door, the main entrance. This hand-carved oaken door is clearly the only way to enter into God’s house. Standing at the door, one would naturally wonder if it is locked. This person, like most of us, would start a little conversation with himself. What do I do if it’s locked? I don’t have the key to the front door, and I don’t know where I could even find it. There must be a key here somewhere, maybe under this flower pot. Nothing there. Or how about under this big Welcome Mat? Yes! There’s the key, and there’s a note attached to it. The note says, “You have found the Key of David, but you don’t have to use it to enter God’s house. If you’re interested enough to find this key, then the door will be unlocked. Just open the door and walk through the entranceway into God’s house.” Interesting. Obviously, whoever has the Key of David has the authority to control access to the Father. And it appears that the front door holds the Key of David! I wonder why the key is in the shape of the Cross?

The Perfect House of Refuge. There is no need for what is commonly called a saferoom in God’s house. The entire heart-house of God is a refuge and a shelter. Once inside the heart of God, one doesn’t need to make sure he escapes to the one hiding place that will protect him. The fact is, once someone walks through the Door of Jesus and into God’s heart, there is no need to worry about safety or protection. God’s entire heart-house is safe.

Entering God’s Heart. So I enter the house of God’s heart, and immediately I am welcomed into the Living Room, a casual, comfortable room that had loving conversation filling the atmosphere, and everyone seemed to be offering their peaceful presence to each other. Since it was centrally located in the Living Room, the bright flames in the Fireplace drew me, and I was in awe being in the presence of the heavenly fire of God’s glory. It looked like His glory set the tone for the whole house.  I continued exploring what God offered to everyone who entered into God’s heart, and the Study came into view, where the students were focused on digesting His Word and gaining the mind of Christ. Then I heard lots of loud, joyful voices in the room nearby, and sure enough there was the Dining Room, where a large boisterous group of people were sitting around a huge table, enjoying delicious food, celebrating the blessings of life inside God, singing and offering toasts, and being grateful for each other. I peeked into the Kitchen at that point and saw that this was where those meals were prepared, but also where the life-giving fresh bread was safely stored. Pure water was continually available for everyone at the golden tap.

Near the Kitchen and down the hallway was the Chapel, privately situated so I could enter into that sacred space whenever I wanted and have more intimate conversations with God through His Spirit. This wonderful Chapel allowed me to be inside the Holy Spirit, and there was nothing like it that I have ever experienced. Next down the hallway was the Family Room, where children and family and marriage were honored and celebrated. Everyone seemed to enjoy each other’s company here and considered it a safe place to practice those “one another’s” that are so important in community life. The children’s Play Room was right next door to the Family Room, and kids of all ages were able to be louder, more expressive, and explore wherever their child-like heart wanted to explore. They would play games, use their imagination in creative ways, and enjoy the innocent freedom of childhood. Interestingly enough, I discovered the School Room right next to the Play Room, aa if they were connected in spirit somehow. The School Room was kind of like a children’s museum with interesting things to discover and experience, as well as a library and writing room, and the children were all curious about this and that, and wanting to cooperate with the whole learning process. The school master was managing the room with a very effective mixture of love and firmness, full of grace and truth, and it was obviously a place where the students love to learn and learned to love each other as well.

I continued to explore, and almost walked right by the Clothes Closet, where there was an attendant who held up a new wardrobe for me to put on. I obviously had to remove my old clothes in order for me to put on the new clothes. The smiling attendant said that I needed to clothe myself with the Son, put on His new identity over me, and wear His suit of love. After putting on my new set of clothes, I ventured further down the hall and found this huge Workroom, and sure enough the Father and the Son were both in there working hard to create new babies and generally sustain the world.  When I poked my head into the workroom, they both asked if I would like to work right along with them as they love the world and renew it daily. After joining them for a while, I walked into the Exercise Room next door, where I was trained to vigorously practice the truth after I hear it, and to offer worship as a spiritual exercise using body and soul.

Private. And now we come to the place in God’s heart that is inaccessible to everyone except His Son. Of course, since the Father and Son are there, their Holy Spirit is there as well. This room deep in His heart’s innards is the only one with the door marked “Private.” This place is called God’s bosom. The Greek word for bosom in the New Testament is “kolpon,” and there are a variety of meanings. In the case of John 1:18, though, bosom meant something very special. “No one has ever seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, has made Him known.” One could name this room The Trinity Room, because it is where they are united as One. Bosom was the innermost place of the deepest relationship possible; the place of mystery inside of God where the profound union takes place; where there is complete intimate knowledge of Each Other that is reciprocal; the spiritual “womb” deep in God’s heart of hearts from which Someone is “brought forth;” the place of deepest affection, where the intimacy is reserved for the Three who are in union; it is where the Three-in-One are truly “with” each other at the deepest level possible.  In God’s heart, which is utterly holy throughout, His bosom would be considered the “Holy of Holies.”

This huge and inspiring house in God’s heart has a Sickbay down the hall, where we can be treated for any type of injury or illness we might receive, whether in heart, mind or body. God wants us to be healthy, to flourish, and so He makes sure we don’t hesitate to use the “healing room” if we need it. After all that time in the exercise room and then the work room, I see the need to have a room right nearby where we can wash off and be cleansed, inside and out. The Cleansing Room has also been used as the baptismal if we want to follow Jesus in that way. It is strongly suggested that we do so. The Bedroom is next door, and this is where we can invite an intimate union with God, a Double Union in fact, where our life inside God’s heart is made official, and God can begin His life inside our heart. And then I spy out a secret spiral staircase that leads up through the ceiling and into the rooftop. God has planted a very fruitful Vineyard on the Roof, where it can get so much sunlight and rain and fresh air. God’s vineyard is His special way of teaching me that I need to be grafted onto the True Vine of His Son, and become just as fruitful as His grapevines on the roof. Evidently, I won’t even bear one grape unless I am living inside the Vine.

Well, I loved every minute of this tour of God’s heart-house, where I can make myself at home and enjoy my eternal union with Him. And to think I didn’t even need the key of David, because the Door was Jesus, David’s Messiah, and He was in charge of the key! The Son is the only entrance to the Father’s house (John 14:6), and It seems to make perfect sense that the front Door key was named after David… Messiah Jesus was in David’s family bloodline, God had a special promise that the Messiah would come from David’s family, and David was a man after God’s own heart. The name David means, “Beloved,” so the Father continued David’s family tradition by calling Jesus “my beloved Son” at both the Baptism and the Transfiguration. So apart from the Key of David, Jesus has the keys to the universe, all the authority and power to govern this world (Matt. 28:18), as well as the New Jerusalem coming soon.

A Mutual Decision? I made my decision to enter God’s heart, or was it in a sense made for me? Is this a matter described by Pascal, that I would not be able to even seek God unless I had first been found by Him? My dwelling place is right here inside God’s house. I want to remain here and make myself at home. God’s heart-house is too inviting to turn down, and the Door invited me to “abide” here forever. How can I refuse?

“O come thou Key of David, come, and open wide our heavenly home;

Make safe the way that leads on high, and close the path to misery,

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!”