Signs of the Heart

In Ephesians chapter 2, we can see how Christ has come to give us a new life and a new identity and how He desires to express His nature and tell His story through us:
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus...      10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

You are loved by God, alive in Christ, raised up with Him, declared to be His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus.   If we were to display and wear a sign about our life, that's a great start - we are new creations in Christ Jesus, and declared to be holy and righteous before Him...completely forgiven by His blood.   If we grasp that message and allow it to permeate us, it will make a difference in the way we think - and the way we live!

In Jeremiah 17, we read:
1 "The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron; With the point of a diamond it is engraved On the tablet of their heart, And on the horns of your altars,    7 "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord. 8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit. 9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? 10 I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.

A set of parents in Florida who have been disappointed in their 13-year-old's behavior as of late took a unique approach to punishment recently: according to Yahoo!,  last Saturday, the teen (whose name has not been released) spent 90 minutes standing at a busy intersection with a hand-written sign describing her sins.  It read: "I’m a self-entitled teenager w/no respect for authority. I’m also super smart, yet I have 3 'D’s' because I DON’T CARE."

The mom told a local paper that, “I wasn’t even thinking about what the public was going to think...I was thinking about our daughter. It was for her to be in the public and recognize what she had done wrong."

In a statement, the parents said, "We spend so much focus on not wanting to hurt a child's self esteem that we don't do anything."  And, "Walk a mile in someone's shoes...We must undo at home what the world tries to tell her is better."

Well, there are indications that the bizarre punishment may have been effective, but when something unique is demonstrated in such a public manner, there is a good chance that people with cell phones will take pictures and post them online, which has happened, with many taking the family to task for the shame and humiliation.

I will not comment on the wisdom of this punishment, but I did think about this:  what if you were forced to hold a sign that expresses what's in your heart?   The messages that are written on our heart will ultimately be expressed in our behavior.   This teenager's behavior was posted for thousands to see - and there is a message that each of us demonstrates through our life for others to see, as well.

The 2 young men who were convicted in Steubenville, Ohio for drugging and victimizing a young lady certainly had the wrong signs written on their hearts.   So did their fellow teens who took part in filming the incident and posting video online.   And, the father of one of the boys stated his own culpability: "Everyone knows I wasn't there for my son. I feel responsible for his actions. I feel highly responsible for his actions."

Sportwriter Dan Wetzel, quoted in The Christian Post, noted that there was arrogance: "Arrogance from the defendants. Arrogance from the friends. Arrogance within the culture...."A culture of arrogance created a group mindset of debauchery and disrespect, of misplaced manhood and lost morality."

The mother of the victim wanted to write a different message and hold a sign of forgiveness: the Post quotes her statement: 

"It did not matter what school you went to, what city you live in, or what sport you've played. Human compassion is not taught by a teacher, a coach or a parent. It is a God-given gift instilled in all of us. You displayed not only a lack of compassion but a lack of any moral code...

"This does not define who my daughter is. She will persevere, grow and move on. I have pity for you both. I hope you fear the Lord, repent for your actions and pray hard for his forgiveness," she added.

So, the mom has chosen to display the sign of forgiveness and desires to write words of healing on the heart of her daughter and those who attacked her.   Noted author Ann Voskamp is taking the occasion to write words of respect for women on the heart of her son.  In the blog post, "After Steubenville: 25 Things Our Sons Need to Know About Manhood", she writes:

"...when the prevailing thinking is boys will be boys – girls will be garbage. And that is never the heart of God. That's what you have to get, Son – Real Manhood knows the heart of God for the daughters of His heart."

Among the 25 things Voskamp advises for her sons to learn about manhood are: "To stay silent is to let perpetrators perpetuate;" "Unless a man looks to Jesus, a man doesn't know how to treat a woman;" and "Real Manhood means you take responsibility for your body."

So, again, we can ask ourselves what messages we are displaying with the way we live our lives - our behavior is a visible sign of what's in our heart - what are we writing there?    And, parents, what messages are we writing on the hearts of our children?