What's the heart of a man? Is it simply the organ inside of a body that fuels life, or is it more than that? Frankly, the term "the heart" has always been a bit confusing to me. I learned about the heart in science classes growing up, but I also learned about it in other places too. I learned about it in church, and I learned about it in sports. In church, I was always told that if I asked Jesus to "come into my heart," He would "make a home there" (Christians definitely have the weirdest way to phrase things). That was something we NEVER talked about in science class. In sports, we were taught to have the "heart of a champion" and to "play with heart." These were strange concepts to me, as well, because anytime I would hear those phrases, the only thing I could think of was the movie Rudy, for some strange reason. I guess he had a good heart, but that never really helped me with anything. There was just something missing between science class, sport, church and love.
This always left me wondering, therefore, what is "the heart" and what does it do? . . . besides pump my blood. It seems like there are different sides to the heart. There's the physical side that we all know and love, there's the spiritual side, the emotional side and, of course, the love side. It seems like a lot for a small organ the size of my fist to be in charge of.
Yesterday, I wrote about the importance of taking care of what's on the inside of a person, being the heart, the mind and the soul. Now, I want to wrap that up by writing about each of these things individually, starting with the heart.
How can we take care of the heart when it seems there are so many different sides to it and so many different beliefs about it? How can we take care of what is taking care of us? I believe the answer is giving life. I believe the key to taking care of the heart is by giving it life, just as it gives us life. Give your heart something to live for:
Physically: As your heart pumps blood through your body to your muscles and organs, use those muscles and organs. Give your heart a reason to keep sending blood to the rest of your body. Go outside and sweat, work and play. Enjoy the blessings of a body full of life and use the life it gives you to give life right back to it.
Emotionally: What gives you life? Who gives you joy? Find these things and these people and invest in them, love them and be thankful for them. The "heart of a champion" and a heart that's in love are hearts full of passion and selflessness. If we emotionally invest in the people and passions in our lives, surely our hearts can experience life.
Spiritually: There is no greater joy I've found in my life than when my heart is living for something Greater than me. It's hardwired into me that I experience true life when I'm not living for myself, but for Someone and Something that is much greater than me. It's far more than having Jesus "make a home in my heart." It's about Him giving me a completely new heart and living not only for Him, but because of Him. This is where life is really experienced and where my heart has not just something to live for, but Someone to live for.
Take care of your heart. It keeps you alive, after all.
-Cliff
Cliff's Note: Give the heart life, just as it gives us life.