Pierce Our Hearts Lord

The message I bring here pierces my own heart. For in it I recognize my own weakness and yet at the same time, I revel anew in God's grace to have patience and such love for me still. So it is with humility and hopeful expectation that I present it with the understanding that in Christ we are all as one unified body of brethren bearing one another up to succeed together in the completion of our journey as Christ's beautiful bride.

There may be some who would say that I'm over the top in my pursuit of my Savior - that my passion is excessive, that my heartfelt gestures in worship of His greatness are beyond what is necessary or acceptable. Perhaps they would see my tears of compassion for the burdens or suffering of others as weakness or find it contemptible. But to any of these I would say with conviction that all that they have witnessed from me is lacking - they are insufficient to be worthy of His greatness or to reflect the deep compassion of Christ's heart. I am as we all are, unworthy of His great love and grace so I boast of no advantage now. I'm impressed that the message so heavily on my heart is His stirring of our passion to reflect a response to His great and pure romantic passion for us - not condemnation. Condemnation serves no purpose in His pursuit of our love - what He desires is our true and passionate response to His endless passionate overtures that He has made and patiently continues to make to each of us ...

Such praise is given to a man who sacrifices his own life to save the life of another. The accolades of the one who died are great in response to his selflessness and he's held up as an honorable example among men. For the person whose life was saved, there may never be enough words to describe the gratitude of their heart as they repeatedly recount the cost of their rescue. What can they offer that would be equal to the cost of the human life that was snuffed out in the place of their own? Indeed a good heart will be grateful for the advantage of each day after, lived as though it were purchased by the suffering and sacrifice of another who lost the opportunity to live. Such a gift is sobering and amazing among men.

We find occasions to honor men for many reasons and show such honor in a variety of ways. For example, we set aside days to honor men who having passed before us, excelled in the exemplary leadership of their country or those who served in its defense - some having made the ultimate sacrifice to the benefit of many. We honor excellence in wisdom and faithfulness in service. Some scream and shout over the accomplishments and failures in athletic competition and gather in great numbers in special facilities built at great cost and paid for by people attending those events. We applaud those with musical talent and are willing to sacrifice time and money to show our appreciation of their efforts. If you take the time to think about it, there's an endless list of things that we as humans applaud in other humans and show a willingness to set aside as worthy of recognition and even sacrifice for.

But what of a God? THE God?

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious standard

Each time I witness the story of my Savior's suffering recounted in movies my heart is broken and wrecked to a point of feeling physically ill. The reality of my condition and His suffering on my behalf is not lost on me. I'm crushed knowing that by our God's standard, I deserved everything that He willingly suffered. I earned it and He paid for it. Make no mistake - I do not live under the condemnation that was formerly mine. But my prayer is that I never forget the truth of what has existed in reality lest my gratitude and passionate love of the God who suffered in my place to save me from His righteous judgment should ever wane in the least amount. I pray that they exist in the greatest measure for every moment of the eternity that His excruciating pain and humiliation bought for me.

Matthew 22:36-39 36 "Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?" 37 Jesus replied, "'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'

If I withhold the zeal and passion of my heart for my God in worship of him in order to protect my acceptable reputation before men, what does that do to my reputation before my God? But by consideration, even this pales in comparison to the question of what it does to the reputation of my God. Not that God's reputation can be damaged by anyone, for He is perfect in His character. But if I hold back in any measure the praise and exaltation of Him (that He so richly deserves beyond my capacity to offer) before men, then have I not deprived Him of, or even stolen His rightful fame by my neglect and willful withholding?

If I truly love my neighbor as myself, will I not proclaim the glory and fame of my God to allow them the opportunity to be saved as I am by His grace? - this not simply by the utterings of my lips, but by the power of the example of a life changed and now lived gladly in His service. If I live a life before them that allows His holy favor on it and that reflects His awesomely attractive spirit, will they not see it and be drawn to Him as I have been? If I love them, will I not give them cause to be affected by the fame of His greatness and forever drawn to the pure sweetness of His spirit?

If I worship Him with mediocrity, will they have cause to wonder about Him or to be drawn to know Him? Or will I be giving them an impression regarding the Sovereign Lord that is false and perhaps dissuading them from seeking Him out? Will I be doing justice to Him or merely shaming myself before Him in the face of all that He has done to woo my affection? Truthfully, what is this life worth if not lived for His glory? We live and we die without any future beyond that of our mortal bodies except to suffer eternal torment if we are without recognition of His grace. He lived on the Earth and died in an act of selfless sacrifice in our place but lives now to receive our praise and gratitude. Given all that is true, what cause do I have to live if not for His pleasure? Is the price of my reputation before men too much to pay for all that He has given me? Do I have room for reservation when it comes to my worship of Him?

This is a Sovereign God, not a mere man that we now and for all eternity respond to and are subject to. The greatest commandment of Christ requires that I love the Lord my God with all my heart, all my soul, and all my mind. So what limits do I dare to put on my response to Him for any reason? In truth, beyond any other reason we were created for His pleasure. There is no other greater need or demand in this life that rises above Him. His pleasure is our purpose to live and the fulfillment of that purpose I assure you, through the obedient application of the whole of His word and the sincere offering of our true passion for Him without exception will meet any other need or demand of this momentary life.

Lord ,I declare this to be true before any, that if there be any good found in me it is by your breath and Spirit within me that give me life.

So I pray Lord, pierce our hearts as your own is for the vain sufferings and loneliness of lives lived outside of your grace. Give us courage to render to you all that we have to offer in our passionate worship of you through our lives and through the true freedom to praise and exalt you in the moments we set aside to express them to you intimately. Give us your perspective for the truth of what exists both on earth and in heaven for eternity so that we can see them through your eyes and live according to that perspective - so that our lives won't be wasted in pursuit of things that don't matter and so that your faithful heart is rewarded. Replace the values and priorities of our flesh with your own so that we will not be deceived by the spirit of this world. Put a coal to our lips and sanctify them to speak your heart so that others may hear you. And guard our tongues, binding them from speaking from the imperfection of our flesh. Give us hearts intimately in pursuit of your own and that are moved by what moves yours. Set us free Lord from whatever restrains us so that we may offer all that is truly yours to receive - above all else and all others in our lives. Make us forever mindful of the weight of all that you have done and all that you are so that our hearts can forever respond in a spirit of true gratitude and holy, passionate worship. Lord, I pray in earnest, stir our hearts to passion worthy of your greatness and courage worthy of the position that you have given us by your loving grace. Help us to live this life passionately as you are passionate and in ways that bring a great smile to your Godly face and awesome joy to your great heart ...