what would you do, how differently would you look at life, would you live life if you knew that your heart was the treasure of the kingdom?

thats the question ive been struggling with.

the bible is rather clear about the value of our hearts.  Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that’s where life starts proclaims proverbs 4.

all too often, when i read the bible, or when its preached, its done so with a word of caution.  a warning.  something to heed.  it’s almost like we take every verse as a stern thou shalt not! and when we read about this God of abundant life, it never makes sense.  we never see it.  it never comes to fruition.  so we chalk it up to something we have to trudge through ‘by faith’, and we give up on that beautiful life we were meant to live.

but what if that verse wasnt a warning.  what if that verse wasnt meant to chastise or correct?  but to tell us, show us the value of our hearts?  what if the intent was to show us where that abundant life starts?

john eldredge in waking the dead says: “caring for our own hearts isnt selfishness; it’s how we begin to love.

yes, we care for our hearts for the sake of others.  does that sound like a contradiction?  not at all.  what will you bring to others if your heart is empty, dried up, pinned down?  love is the point.  and you cant love without your heart, and you cant love well unless your heart is well.

when it comes to the whole subject of loving others, you must know this: how you handle your own heart is how you will handle theirs.

and

“what more can be said, what greater case could be made than this: to find God, you must look with all your heart.  to remain present to God, you must remain present to your heart.  to hear His voice, you must listen with your heart.  to love Him, you must love with all your heart.  you cannot be the person God meant you to be, and you cannot live the life He meant you to live, unless you live from the heart.”

wow.

what if that verse wasnt meant as a warning?  but as a promise?  as a road sign?  what if its there to tell us that the abundant life He promised, is available?  and that its tied to the dreams that were etched on our hearts before we were born?

what if that life is out there?  if only we’d take care of our hearts?  would i realize that the life i want to see is there?  inside of me?  and that if i cared for my heart, listened to it, lived from it, that this life would flow out?  that id see my dreams come true?  would you?

would you realize that life is there?  inside of you?  etched into your heart by the perfect One?  would you realize that there is a reason your heart beats for antiques?  or art?  or music?  or engineering? or dancing? or fashion? or photography?  or woodworking?

what if we didnt give up on our dreams?  but instead chose to dust them off, pry open the pages of stories long since forgotten and begin to read, again, the words that are etched on our hearts?  what then?

what would our lives look like?  how would life be different?  how much more abundant would life be, if i honestly believed that my heart was a treasure?  that abundant life was out there, was available for me?

would it be real?  would this abundant life be real?  would you see it if you looked at me?

i dont have the answers.  but i’m going to challenge myself to find out.

because i believe there is a bigger story out there, bigger than im living.  and these echoes we heart in our hearts, the yearning for something more, the ache deep inside that tells us we are not yet complete, they are all telling us that there is more.  that we were destined for more.  and that our path to this life, begins within our hearts.

your heart was created.  by the Creator.  with purpose and beauty.  a destiny all its own.  and you will only find that destiny, that fullness, by following the calling placed on your Heart by the one who traded His life for yours.

so follow Him.  find your heart.  and live from it.

future of forestry – sanctitatis