Where's your heart?

 

Every once in a while you'll hear some person talking about another and he'll say something like "he wears his heart on his sleeves".  I heard that more than once about Coach Mike Ditka.  He typified it, in that what you saw was what you got with Ditka.  He let his emotions, his feelings, his temper, and himself be seen, just as he really was.  You didn't get a run-around from the Coach.  It was what it was without any sugarcoating.

 

There's a lot of folks these days who call themselves Christians, and a lot of folks who are churched folks who really don't fool a lot of people.  Oh, they're talking the talk, but they aren't really walking the walk....and the impression that leaves on folks who may be on the verge of changing their lifestyles is not a good one.  Because, in many cases they see phony, and it turns them off.  There is a huge difference between being broken and owning it (many, many Christians do) and pretending that you're all fixed because you got Jesus (and subsequently hiding mistakes, faults, etc).

 

As average Christian men, our talk (especially when unsolicited or done for show) makes us come off as used car salesmen to those around us.  Conversely, it is our walk which can carry a true message to those around us.  If they see us handle a stressful situation with calm and grace, that gets their attention because perhaps they are seeing a different way of reacting to a stressful situation.  That is but one small example.  There are thousands of other examples.

 

The point is, if we have been working on our hearts, it's going to show, and especially if we wear those hearts on our sleeves.  That becomes easier and easier the more we know and grow...and that is the whole point of learning and growing to be a better Christian man.  If you consider that the light of Jesus shines through your heart, and come to believe that, then you will naturally start to let your heart do the talking instead of your mouth.  The mouth will simply be a conduit for what your heart says.  And when that takes place, you will be wearing your heart on your sleeve for all to see.  How very fortunate that will be for that unsaved co-worker, your friend who is riding the fence, your kids and family and relatives....and the list goes on.

 

Where's your heart?  Still inside or on your sleeve?