The Heart of the Matter
By Dan Qurollo
Burke County
One of the areas that challenge us as believers is that of compassion. Far too often, we approach matters such as these haphazardly and will little effort. This mindset reflects a greater problem and demonstrates that we are not right with God. Rather than being haphazard in our compassion, we must instead strive to be intentional. We must realize that our relationships with others flow directly out of our relationship with God. Therefore, our focus must first be on our relationship with God. Relationships with others will never be right if we are not first right in our relationship with God.
We often substitute our relationship with God with many other things. For example, individuals often point to a service that is performed for God as a means to describe their relationship with God. While service does naturally flow from a love for God, it is possible to allow service to God to take the place of a relationship with God. This mindset of pointing to our service to God can assume a variety of roles. It can include church attendance or tithing. It can include being involved in certain ministries of the church or in teaching a class. It can even include preaching.
But God is first and foremost interested in our hearts. We cannot claim to love God if we do not take the time to spend with Him. We cannot claim to love God if we are unwilling to obey Him. Our relationship with God is such that demands time and energy.
Tragically, we often fail to remember that God does not judge us as a man. Because we fail to consider this, we often do things that make us look good on the outside while neglecting our own hearts. When it comes to man’s assessment of things, we look good. But God judges the heart. It is not our service that God desires first and foremost; it is our heart.
In order for us to become intentional in our compassion, we must first become devoted to our God. We must love Him above all else and commit to doing only those things that please Him. Only then can we have a heart that is truly right in His sight.
________________________________________________________________________________
Dan Qurollo is pastor of Morganton Baptist Church. You can visit them online at www.morgantonbaptist.net, on Facebook, or on Youtube. You can read more good Christian news from Dan HERE.
________________________________________________________________________________
