Continuing on...starting with the merry heart...and then the power of a changed heart, and yet for myself, there is a vital ingredient needed for this transition to take place....
A merry heart is "like a breath of fresh air" during the Christmas season, watching the joys of children receiving presents, families reuniting and sharing their lives, and a festive spirit in anticipation of the various celebrations this time of year brings about.
A changed heart in my humble opinion brings an even greater strength by allowing us the sense of Christmas to be felt within us throughout the year...for the Sacred Scriptures... when embraced in our hearts...carries with it this type of power.
And yet, there seems to be a " bridge" that links the merry heart to the changed heart...and I think this link is ....a broken heart.
King David expresses this sentiment of a broken heart in Psalms 51. He was guilty...of a horrific crime. He had set-up a guy named Uriah...to be killed, and then take Uriah's wife to become his wife. This is really messed up.
Yet, he soon began to realize that getting Uriah's wife Bathsheba, may have initially made his heart merry... but not obeying God's Commands and even going against human decency...would not sustain his heart to remain merry. In fact, he now had entered a dark time... a heart void of color of any type...nothing but darkness...for now...by setting up Uriah to be killed, he had also set himself up...to be void of any relationship he had...with God Himself.
Nothing could ever satisfy David's yearning to have a relationship with his God...in fact many biblical historians write: "David was never the same again." His only hope was to throw himself at the mercy of God...and what happens...happens.
Psalm 51:16-17...I will express from my own personal view: " Going through the motions of giving honor to You...can never take away the pain of my sins. There are not enough sacrifices I can do...to replace the void of not being with You, nor going to the Temple and offering unending sacrifices...will not heal what I have done...none of this would begin to please You. I could try and pay back Uriah's relatives and do everything imaginable to "patch" the atrocity I have committed, and give myself to being nice to all...for the rest of my entire life...and yet, this would never be enough to please You. I could finish out my life in a flawless performance...a great act seen by all...but You.
It is clear to me...Your verdict of what I have done...is right and just, and all I have to give to You...is a shattered and broken heart. I have had my dear friend killed, and I have turned my back...on You and Your Commands, and now my pride is broken and my sin has it's full grip on me...Your verdict is set.
Yet, it is in this dark moment of my life, I find my comfort with You...for I bear my true heart to You, and Your Mercy coupled with Your Love for me....will not escape You...for it is in this shattered form of my life...that my heart can change...putting my entire trust...in You."
David came to realize a merry heart alone does not take away pain and sin we incorporate into our lives, and our ability to change our old hearts to ones that give honor to Him in all we do...can only come from accepting and obeying the words of His Commands.
Christmas.....launches us with merry hearts, leads us to having changed hearts, through the passage of a broken and contrite heart.
And as spoken in the end of Dicken's "A Christmas Carol"....Scrooge knew the meaning and "celebrated Christmas...every day of the year."
A merry heart is "like a breath of fresh air" during the Christmas season, watching the joys of children receiving presents, families reuniting and sharing their lives, and a festive spirit in anticipation of the various celebrations this time of year brings about.
A changed heart in my humble opinion brings an even greater strength by allowing us the sense of Christmas to be felt within us throughout the year...for the Sacred Scriptures... when embraced in our hearts...carries with it this type of power.
King David expresses this sentiment of a broken heart in Psalms 51. He was guilty...of a horrific crime. He had set-up a guy named Uriah...to be killed, and then take Uriah's wife to become his wife. This is really messed up.
Yet, he soon began to realize that getting Uriah's wife Bathsheba, may have initially made his heart merry... but not obeying God's Commands and even going against human decency...would not sustain his heart to remain merry. In fact, he now had entered a dark time... a heart void of color of any type...nothing but darkness...for now...by setting up Uriah to be killed, he had also set himself up...to be void of any relationship he had...with God Himself.
Nothing could ever satisfy David's yearning to have a relationship with his God...in fact many biblical historians write: "David was never the same again." His only hope was to throw himself at the mercy of God...and what happens...happens.
Psalm 51:16-17...I will express from my own personal view: " Going through the motions of giving honor to You...can never take away the pain of my sins. There are not enough sacrifices I can do...to replace the void of not being with You, nor going to the Temple and offering unending sacrifices...will not heal what I have done...none of this would begin to please You. I could try and pay back Uriah's relatives and do everything imaginable to "patch" the atrocity I have committed, and give myself to being nice to all...for the rest of my entire life...and yet, this would never be enough to please You. I could finish out my life in a flawless performance...a great act seen by all...but You.
It is clear to me...Your verdict of what I have done...is right and just, and all I have to give to You...is a shattered and broken heart. I have had my dear friend killed, and I have turned my back...on You and Your Commands, and now my pride is broken and my sin has it's full grip on me...Your verdict is set.
Yet, it is in this dark moment of my life, I find my comfort with You...for I bear my true heart to You, and Your Mercy coupled with Your Love for me....will not escape You...for it is in this shattered form of my life...that my heart can change...putting my entire trust...in You."
David came to realize a merry heart alone does not take away pain and sin we incorporate into our lives, and our ability to change our old hearts to ones that give honor to Him in all we do...can only come from accepting and obeying the words of His Commands.
Christmas.....launches us with merry hearts, leads us to having changed hearts, through the passage of a broken and contrite heart.
And as spoken in the end of Dicken's "A Christmas Carol"....Scrooge knew the meaning and "celebrated Christmas...every day of the year."
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