Philippians 4:7: And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Hearts and minds. These two words stood out while reading Philippians 4:7 this morning. I’ve been mulling over the distinction between the two. Sometimes it’s only semantics; how we word things. At other times, we act as though our hearts and minds stand separately, as self-contained parts of who we are.
When I share my testimony, I compare my life to the sectioned Styrofoam plates used at church potlucks or gatherings with extended family. The largest section on my plate is for macaroni and cheese. Add some ham, fried chicken, or both; sweet potato casserole, fried okra, and a token amount of green beans, with a roll on top. It’s that green bean juice I have to watch out for. I can’t have it tainting the cheesy goodness of the macaroni or getting soaked up into the roll. But our faith isn’t meant to be contained in the smallest section of a Styrofoam plate.
Human nature tends to compartmentalize but our faith isn’t meant to be contained in the smallest section of a Styrofoam plate.
I’ve often said that our decision to follow Jesus is only the first of many, because it becomes the filter by which all future decisions are made. God knows our hearts and our minds. As we engage with the Word, the Holy Spirit reveals any actions and attitudes we need to confess and brings us to repentance, but only if we’re willing.
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).
Eternal God, you are the maker of heaven and earth. You designed humanity and built within us a yearning for you. So many times we fail to recognize that it’s you who our souls long for. We fill up on the buffet table of what can never truly satisfy, filling our plates with a little of this and a bit of that, only to find ourselves empty. Forgive us when we limit you to only one area of our lives. Permeate our whole being: heart and mind, body and soul. Everything in us and all we are is yours.
