The Countercultural Heritage of Open Heartedness
I have a heritage of open heartedness, but it’s not genetic or cultural. It’s countercultural. Somehow as a small child I began to learn to go against my western cultural heritage of privacy and hardness of heart. I began to train myself to be transparent and honest.
Then one day in college I discovered a book that began to expose the darkness hidden in my heart and to flood me with light. I’ve been reading that book daily (with very few exceptions) for more than 55 years. The transparency of that book has led (and continues to lead) me deeper and deeper into my openhearted heritage. Here are some of the things it has taught me.
A hardened heart is not the sign of an innate lack of sensitivity. It’s a sign of pride, of fear, of stubbornness and of deep insecurity. Religion is a poor substitute for ongoing sensitivity and attentiveness to the risen Jesus.
God frequently uses ordinary people, daily occurrences, and flashes of thought to communicate to people. Simple things often shine supernatural light on those who notice them.
People try to avoid the voice and the presence of the God who asks, “Where are you?” They prefer to replace Him with their self-made gods.
Create space within yourself for prayer without ceasing. The purpose of prayer is to nurture and cultivate ongoing sensitivity to, awareness of, and surrender to the presence of the living God. “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”
Like ancient Israel in the wilderness, we human beings have the tendency to harden our heart in an ongoing attempt to protect ourselves from the inner pain of sensitivity and guilt. We often would rather hide inside our hardened heart than come out of the wilderness of our self-imposed darkness and into the marvelous light of God’s healing.
We humans don’t lack sensitivity to the presence of the living God speaking in our heart. We too often lack the courage to listen to Him, so we strive (often unconsciously) to ignore or shut down His voice. When people become aware of the presence of God their first tendency is to run and to hide–to get away from the uncomfortable conviction of sin and call to repentance that His presence brings.
Sensitivity to the presence of Jesus isn’t cultivated merely by hearing sermons or by learning more religious information. It’s nurtured by welcoming the Holy Spirit to be your constant inner guide. The greatest fact-checker is “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” He is “the way, the truth, and the life.” Let Him continually fact-check your heart and personally direct your life.
Most human beings are innately very sensitive to the presence of God. When they hear the name of Jesus spoken sincerely from the heart, most people either become noticeably uncomfortable or very happy. Few people are passively oblivious to the deeply heart-felt mention of His name.
Try it for yourself. Begin to talk about Jesus like you sincerely believe that He is alive and present. Then notice how people respond.
Jesus isn’t just an example to for people to follow. His is present today to literally live within and through people. Christianity isn’t just about gaining religious information. It’s about experiencing continual transformation.
When a church service or other Christian gathering begins to regularly allow the Spirit of God to freely manifest without human controls, some people who feel uncomfortable with intimacy with God will eventually work (often behind the scenes) to shut it down. I’ve seen this happen too many times to count. It is a tragedy when Christians only focus on what Jesus did in the past and ignore His presence, His voice, and His actions in the present.
The saddest race
That humans face
Is the race
To run away
From God’s presence.
Stop that race.
Turn around and face
Your Maker.
Let Him replace
The hardness
Of your heart
With Christ’s love
And forgiveness.
Create inner space
For His amazing grace!
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