Heart Check-up

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Psalm 51:10

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and renew a right spirit within me.

(ESV)

As per statistics for 2017 released by the American Heart Association, heart disease still ranks number one as a cause of death in the United States with one in seven or 360,000 people succumbing to it annually.  (1)  While great advances in the treatment of this disease have been achieved, the fact that it still ranks number 1 as a cause of death only emphasizes the seriousness of the disease.  However, there is even a deadlier type of heart disease affecting not only people in the United States but people all over the world.  I am speaking of spiritual heart disease, resulting in spiritual death.

Jesus often taught using parables or stories.  Even today Christian authors like myself use fiction as a means of teaching Christian principles for living.  However, in Luke 8:9-10 Jesus explains why he used parables and it was not just as a means of teaching Godly principles but as a means of weeding out those that were serious about learning more and those just interested in receiving some miracle or goody from God.  In asking what Jesus meant by the parable of the seeds, the disciples were expressing a desire to learn more. 

The parable of the farmer scattering his seed does however show us the various spiritual heart diseases people suffer from and allows us to conduct a personal heart checkup so we can seek the cure to whatever disease is affecting our heart and preventing us from enjoying a new clean heart from God (Psalm 51:10).

Our spiritual heart, like our physical heart, can suffer from,    

1)      Blockage (Luke 8:4-5, 12) – Some individuals hear the message of the Gospel and reject it due to their desire to continue living in their sin.  Sin has blocked the life-giving flow of the sacrificial blood of Christ which can forgive them of their sins and grant them eternal life (1 John 1:7).  Just as medical doctors urge us to watch our diets and test our cholesterol levels to prevent physical blockages in our heart, we need the live giving blood of Christ to remove the blockage of sin in our spiritual hearts.  We all have sinned and therefore suffer from its blockage in our spiritual hearts (Romans 3:23) but there is a simple free surgery that can remove that blockage.  All we must do is believe in the death burial and resurrection of Jesus and confess that with our mouth (John 3:16, Romans10:9-10).  If you have not done this and are currently suffering from the ravishes of sin blocked spiritual arteries, I encourage you to enter the operating room and receive your cure by praying with me.

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, was buried, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

2)      Irregular Heartbeat (Luke 8:6, 13) – I have worked as a prayer counselor at my church and witnessed firsthand the excitement people have once accepting Jesus as their savior.  Part of my duties as a prayer counselor involve encouraging people to pray regularly, study the Bible, and regularly attend church.  Many suffer from an irregular heartbeat which is deadly if not treated with medication or in extreme cases, the surgical implanting of a pacemaker.  For our spiritual heart, regular prayer, Bible study, and church attendance is how we prevent and treat an irregular spiritual heartbeat. 

3)      Congestive Heart Failure (Luke 8:7, 14) – God did not bless me with a green thumb but a brown one so it is probably just as well that I live in a desert.  A few years ago, I had to hire someone to remove a dead bush from my front yard.  The bush had died because of my failure to keep the weeds from growing up around it.  The bush died because the weeds had literally choked the life out of it.  Spiritually, the cares of this world and challenges of everyday living can choke God out of our spiritual hearts.  The way we prevent this from occurring in our spiritual hearts is to learn to cast our cares on Jesus knowing he cares for us (1 Peter 5:7).  

4)      Heart Health (Luke 8:8, 15) – A healthy spiritual and physical heart is not something we suffer from but should be our goal in life.  Those enjoying a healthy physical heart not only live longer but their quality of life is enhanced and they are able to be more active with fewer health issues.  Those that have accepted Jesus as their savior and making the decision to dedicate their lives to serving their Lord in whatever capacity He has for them enjoy the benefits of an enhanced quality in their relationship with God. 

I encourage everyone reading this to conduct a heart checkup.  For our physical hearts this involves having an annual physical and listening to what the doctor says if they detect heart disease.  For our spiritual hearts, we can conduct a self-checkup using the principles of Jesus parable of the seeds and if our heart disease is serious, seek the professional help of our pastor of a counselor. 

May we all enjoy both physical and spiritual heart health in our lives. 

1. American Heart Association. Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics 2017 At-A-Glance. www.heart.org. [Online] The American Heart Association. [Cited: May 25, 2017.] https://www.heart.org/idc/groups/ahamah-public/@wcm/@sop/@smd/documents/downloadable/ucm_491265.pdf.