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NOT A HEART FAR FROM GOD (I)
SATURDAY, JUNE 19
Matthew 15:1-9

Luke 18:9-14

 

“…but their heart is

far from me.”

 

NOT A HEART FAR FROM GOD (I)
 
The Lord Jesus had many encounters with the Pharisees. On one particular occasion, they challenged Him concerning the actions of His disciples ‒ “Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread” (Matt 15:2). The Pharisees, and all the Jews who followed them, placed great stock in their traditions. By these they thought themselves holy and righteous, and therefore close to God: closer than those who did not hold their traditions. They “trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others” (Luke 18:9).
 
But the Lord rebuked them soundly, calling them “hypocrites” (Matt 15:7). They pretended to honour God, and to draw near to Him “with their mouth.” In other words, they made grand professions of their closeness to Him, as the Pharisee in the parable “stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess” (Luke 18:11-12).
 
Yet for all that they claimed with their lips, their hearts were far from God. The humble publican, who “would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven” (Luke 18:13), was nearer to God in the contrition of his heart than the Pharisee.
 
Dear reader, the Christian faith is not merely a costume that one puts on externally. Christian worship does not consist of chants that are to be repeated mindlessly. Just as it is not profession of Christ that saves, but possession of Him; so it is not our lips that must be near to God, but our hearts. This is the pressing question for us! Our feet may be in the pews of a faithful church; our lips may be employed in the singing of wonderful hymns; our hands may be practised in the act of tithing and offering ‒ but where are our hearts?
 
THOUGHT: Is my heart near to God, or far from Him?
PRAYER: “Thy nature, gracious Lord, impart, come quickly from above; write Thy new name upon my heart, Thy new best name of Love.” (Wesley)

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