A Heart Revealed

He holds her hand, stroking the wrinkled, fragile skin with his thumb. She does not respond but he lifts her hand to his lips for a kiss anyway. In this peaceful moment before she sleeps, he remembers how her eyes once danced and her voice had a laughing lilt. She called up love in him the moment he saw her. All he could think about was how to show her his heart. In those days it was easy, when blood ran high and a look contained a whole universe. Now his heart showed up in a plastic basin in which he washed her feet, and beat in the gentle rhythm of brushstrokes through her thin, white hair. She did not know him anymore but revealing his heart for her was as essential to him as breathing. When she opened her mouth like a bird to take the spoon he offered, with an uplift of lips almost laughing, he saw the girl he married and knew he would do it all over again.

I wonder, would God do it all over again? Would He bare His heart again— naked on a cross, to be spat upon and cursed at? For that is who Jesus Christ is —God’s heart revealed. Because the full extent of God’s heart of love was revealed in Jesus, who died once for all, there is no need for the cross again. Immanuel, “God with us”, came into this world as a newborn baby and grew to be a man who walked dusty roads, ate fish by an open fire, and laughed with His friends. Every moment of His earthly life He revealed the perfection of His Father to imperfect, sinful men. But the ultimate revelation of His heart of love came on the cross, where He willingly offered His hands to the nails, His side to the spear, as a sacrifice in place of the punishment we deserved.

We are the reason He did this, because He loved us too much to leave us without hope. “But think about this: while we were wasting our lives in sin, God revealed His powerful love to us in a tangible way – the Anointed One died for us.”    ( Romans 5:8 The Voice)

There is vulnerability in a revealed heart; a possibility of having love spurned. Most human hearts know the pain of love rejected; how it wounds and hardens and is slow to love again. But what of God’s heart when He is rejected, as He was by His chosen people repeatedly? He never gave up because He knew the ultimate revelation of His heart would transcend all rejection with grace. “Grace means, first, love in exercise to those who are below the lover, or who deserve something else; stooping love that condescends and patient love that forgives.” – Alexander Maclaren

Though He knew what was coming, Jesus laid bare His heart, stooping to earth to walk, teach, show and live a perfect life, then to die at the hands of the creatures He created. But there is more! In His resurrection, Jesus reveals His deity, His eternality and His power to cleanse and redeem our hearts, giving us new life in Him.

Is it that in a willing, sacrificial act a true heart is revealed? A husband whose last days with his wife revolve around changing soiled bedding and looking into vacant eyes, loves no less because she cannot respond. Just as the heart of God was fully revealed through the offering of His Son, love given to the unlovely without expectation of return. It is called grace.

 

© Valerie Ronald and scriptordeus 2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie Ronald and scriptordeus with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

 

The Treasure Flower

I have a treasure in my garden. Not jewels or gold coins, but a simple flower called a gazania, or treasure flower. The vivid colors of this South African plant bring a touch of the exotic to the garden, showing symmetrical daisy-like faces during the day, then modestly folding up when night comes. It has become my favourite annual to plant each year, not only because of its brilliant flowers, but because its common name reminds me of a spiritual treasure I’ve been given, of inestimable value.

“The God who spoke light into existence, saying, “Let light shine from the darkness,” is the very One who sets our hearts ablaze to shed light on the knowledge of God’s glory revealed in the face of Jesus, the Anointed One. But this beautiful treasure is contained in us—cracked pots made of earth and clay—so that the transcendent character of this power will be clearly seen as coming from God and not from us.” – 2 Corinthians 4:6-7  (The Voice)

God’s glory in the face of Jesus, the Anointed One. That is the treasure I’ve been given to carry around in this cracked pot made of earth and clay. Will I ever wrap my head around it? It leaves me dumb with wonder every time I think that God, revealed in Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit, has chosen to take up residence in this lowly body.

In Jesus’ time, making pottery was a lucrative business as clay pots were the necessary vessels for everyday use. Rather than throw a cracked pot away after firing, a dishonest potter would fill the cracks with wax then cover them with paint or glaze. The way to check if a pot was sound was to hold the pot up to the sunlight, which would reveal any wax-filled cracks. Makers of fine pottery marked their goods with the Latin words “sine cera”, meaning “without wax”. Our English word “sincere” comes from this root, meaning genuine, honest, true.

When the cracked pot of my human life is held up to the Son shining from the darkness, His light streaming through the cracks will reveal my brokenness by the purity of His radiance. I am just the vessel, and a most imperfect one at that. My frailty will all the more show what a beautiful treasure I have been given, because any goodness or kindness or sincerity will be coming from His transcendent character.

My gazania flowers love the sun, opening their vibrant petals to soak in heat and light. They tolerate mild drought, require little tending and are known to attract butterflies. Whoever called them treasure flowers named them well because they offer a treasure of pleasure for so little care. I learn from them about soaking in the Son, absorbing the life He gives so I can give joy to others. I learn to not be demanding, but attractive in a way which will draw seekers to the beauty of  Jesus. I learn to close my spirit to protect it from the darkness, just as they close their petals at night.

This simple little flower teaches me I am abounding in spiritual riches because I know “…the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” – Colossians 2: 2b-3 (NIV)