Do We Know the Heart of Jesus?

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

                                                                                        -Matthew 11:28-30

As evangelicals, we speak often about the importance of having and participating in a personal relationship with Christ.  We underscore the need to seek him first in all that we do, of participating in activities and spiritual disciplines that will enable us to live the kind of life of faith he is calling us to live, faith that is transforming to us and others around us, faith that is shared actively and routinely.  Yet do we emphasize the need to know the heart of Jesus first?  Is what we do for Jesus done with Jesus?  In other words, are we allowing his Spirit to produce his heart within us?

Jesus reveals his heart in these verses.  And there are three words worth focusing on if we want to better understand his heart, the words “rest,” “gentle,” and “humble,” words that describe Jesus to a “t.”  Like many others, I became fascinated by the Chosen series.  I streamed the episodes with my wife and was amazed at how Jesus was characterized by the producers.  Much of what takes place in the series is conjecture, meaning that the writers are purposefully trying to fill in the blanks of Jesus’ ministry the gospels do not fill in, causing us to wonder about things that might have happened.  As intriguing as this was, their larger accomplishment, I believe, was capturing the heart of Jesus in the process, the heart of Jesus that shines through the four gospels.

In his bestselling book, The Jesus I Never Knew, author Phillip Yancey describes the transformation that took place in his life when he really started studying the four gospels.  What stood out the most to him is how Jesus treated people of all walks of life.  Especially the broken and the hurting.  Yancey became convinced that the people who loved Jesus the most were people who had experienced his love the most, people who he loved first.  The woman at the well.  The woman caught in adultery.  Zacchaeus.  Blind Bartimaeus.  The way these individuals were treated by Jesus caused them to love Jesus, to leave their sin behind and follow him.   I’m reminded of those three words again, “rest,” “gentle,” and “humble.”

What if these three words were used to describe us?  Our character?  What if the religious and nonreligious alike chose these words as adjectives of our hearts?  What if people who were radically opposed to our belief system had nothing bad to say about the way we conducted ourselves daily?  It would be quite a complement, I believe, because it would be an indication that we are faithfully representing our Savior, that we are consistently allowing the heart of Jesus to shine through us. 

Billy Graham did this in ways that few others have.  He was respected by people of all walks of life, politicians on both sides of the aisle, by Hollywood elitists who had no interest in the Christian faith.  Still, they were intrigued by him, by his message, by the way he treated other people.  Talk show hosts like Larry King would have him as a frequent guest.  There was something about his heart they were drawn to and did not understand.  They wanted to know more.  Why?  His kindness, there can be no doubt.  But also, those three words again, “rest,” “gentle,” “humble.”  Graham was at “rest” in his faith, the assurance he possessed was astounding.  He was “gentle” in the way he treated all people, regardless of background or socioeconomic status.  He was “humble” in the sense that he placed God first always and sought to place the needs of others ahead of his own.

 So perhaps this week as we seek to fulfill that incredibly Great Commission, to be an active part of the mission of God which we know is life transformation, that we will allow the heart of Jesus to capture our hearts first, to control them, to fill every aspect of who we are and what we do, so that the essence of who Jesus is and what he desires for others will be faithfully conveyed to every person God places in our path, so that they will hear about and see Jesus through us.