Dear Cornerstone Family,
I got a phone call from an old friend this week, reminding me of the time I helped him navigate a relationship he was trying to develop with a young lady. He had been discouraged by the last couple of encounters. The conversation was surfacy and the friendliness contrived. He really wanted to break through the casual and get to know her heart.
Now, before I go on, some of you are thinking, “Why, pray tell, did this young man come to you for advice on love?” If that’s you, we clearly need to get to know each other better. This may come as a shock, but in a previous life, I was something of a romance repairman. At the time, I had a girlfriend of six months (she became my wife!), so I was the resident expert on all things related to romance. Ignorant, love-struck friends would seek me out for wisdom on the ways of women. I’d offer commonsense strategies—free of charge, mind you—for jumpstarting your love life.
(You’ll find it a relief to know I’ve long since retired from this profession. Back to the story...)
On the phone, my friend started relaying my advice back to me as I braced for impact. According to him, I said something like, “You’ve got to relax and let her talk. Listen to her words, every one of them. But I don’t want you to get hung up on her words. I want you to hear and respond to her heart. True intimacy happens when we hear and respond to the heart.” Well, even a broke clock is right twice a day. That wasn’t as bad as I feared. Truthfully, that’s pretty good. It’s advice I could probably heed more often myself.
Romance aside, this silly recollection got me thinking about words. Specifically, it got me thinking about my words. What do my words say about my heart? What is my speech revealing about the kind of person I am (see Matthew 15:18; Luke 6:45)? As I asked myself those questions this week, I was invited into an opportunity to be honest with the Lord. To speak to the Lord true words about the darker parts of my heart and receive from Him truer words about His love and forgiveness. “For whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart” (1 John 3:20).
Today, you will take the Word of God into your mouth in worship. As you do this, it’s an opportunity to hear God speaking to you. It’s also an opportunity for you to be honest with the Lord, to come clean in His presence. What good will worship be today if all you do is honor the Lord with your lips, but your heart is a million miles away (Matthew 5:7-8)? Let’s disregard hypocritical ways and tell the Lord the truth. Moreover, let’s listen to the Word (John 1:1) tell us the truth about who He is, what He’s called us to do, and how much He loves us.
Your servant,
