What do we mean when we say we’ve invited Jesus into our hearts? We’re talking about our inner life, where we think, desire, decide, and place our trust. In Ephesians 3:17, Paul prays that Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith. Pay attention to those two words. They tell us how he dwells there.
In the video above, Myles Munroe draws attention to a familiar line from Solomon’s Proverbs, “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Read the whole verse and you’ll find yourself at dinner with a host who says, “Eat and drink,” while he’s privately counting the cost.
The King James Version uses heart twice in Proverbs 23:7. The first phrase comes from the Hebrew nephesh and can be understood here as “within himself.” The second uses a form of lev, the Hebrew word for heart. In the Bible, the heart can think and choose as well as feel. The host’s words offer a welcome. His heart reveals how much of a welcome he means.
I know that man. I’ve been that man. I’ve said, “Glad to help,” and then spent the drive home thinking about how little thanks I got. The help was real. So was the resentment.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:3 that he could give away everything he owned and gain nothing without charity. That makes me wonder what I’m asking Jesus to do when I invite him into my heart. I’m asking him into the part of me that keeps score, too. Maybe the next time I tell somebody to pull up a chair, I can cut them a bigger piece of pie because I’m glad they came.
