The heart of man — (Jer. 17:9). I remember many years ago seeing a strange old picture. It was in the form of a heart, and inside the outer circle there was such a variety of scenes. It looked quite like a city with all sorts of things in it. The painter wanted to show what was to be found within the human heart. Well, I suppose he would be right in a good many things, but he would not be able to describe the whole.
Our text, after telling that “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked,” asks the question, “Who can know it?” Not any one of us, but God does, for He adds, “I the Lord search the heart.”
I remember watching a great searchlight one night; it flashed across the sky, and then into every corner of the nearby park, revealing some strange sights. God’s search-light has been turned into your hearts, dear boys and girls, and this is what it has revealed: “full of evil” (Eccles. 9: 3); “deceit” (Prov. 12:20); “pride” (Prov. 28: 25); “hatred” (Psa. 105:25); “madness” (Eccles. 9: 3).
What a picture! And it is all there — all in your heart. Smart little boys, with chubby faces, and pretty little girls with rosy cheeks, all have hearts like this. Grown-ups too. So you see you need to be born again, created anew, hearts cleansed from sin with the precious blood of Christ, before you can go to heaven.
But there is one heart different from this. Do you know whose heart that is? It is THE HEART OF GOD — (John 3:16). Yes, there is no hatred, no evil there. God is love. Isn’t that wonderful? And better still, He loves me. How do I know? Because Jesus said, “God so loved the world.” I am-in that circle, so are you.
ML 01/08/1967