“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.” St Augustine’s most often quoted phrase captures something that resonates deep within the human heart. The longing of the human heart to be loved for itself – is something caught from the great Divine Heart.
The longing to be loved for itself! God made us for Himself – and we can satisfy the heart of God if we choose to. What an amazing privilege – that we – mere mortals – should be able to do that! When you stop and think about it, it’s absolutely stunning!
When we come to God – not looking for what He can do for us – but just desiring to be in His presence – just wanting to give love to Him – then we have at last grasped what we were created for. Here lies the ultimate fulfilment – of this life – and for all eternity.
Implications
“God loves you” – we hear those words but do we truly comprehend the implications of them? The pleasure of the Divine heart in having our company – the Divine longing for our love – the Divine yearning to have us desire Him? Dare our hearts really believe that we have the ability to satisfy the heart of God – the capacity to delight Him – to give Him joy? What do these words do to your heart as you read them?
John Piper tells us that the ultimate purpose of Creation – the reason why God created the world – was so the He might redeem for Himself a people who delight in Him. God delights in us when we delight in Him. He enjoys our enjoyment of Him – because nothing reflects God’s own glory and His own worth like our delight in Him. That’s the goal of the universe.
Out of a grateful heart filled with love for Jesus, Mary Magdalene washed His feet with her tears, dried them with her hair and anointed them with expensive perfumed ointment from an alabaster box. (Luke 7:37-38). Such extravagant love – poured out of a heart entranced by what she had seen of the character of Jesus.
Can you truly comprehend that it is in your power right now to break the ‘alabaster box’, and pour the precious oil of joy upon His head, as did the woman of old, whose memorial is to this day set forth wherever the gospel is preached.
Whole heart
Mary didn’t wait until she thought she was good enough to pour out her love. She came – just as she was – a woman of ill-repute whose sins had been forgiven. She simply wanted to demonstrate her love, asking for nothing – simply giving her whole heart to Jesus.
Her actions meant so much to Jesus that he said “Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
To know God; to delight in God; to find our heart’s rest in God; to satisfy the heart of God, we need to be sure that the God of our heart is the true God – and not some God of our own or other people’s imagination.
Be Thou My Vision
(with lyrics so you can sing along):-
equinox 