Proverbs 14:10 (ESV)
The heart knows its own bitterness,
and no stranger shares its joy.
When we see a person's face we can often discern their heart. Those going through great difficulty often don't have a way to hide the connection between the heart and the muscles of the head. Frowns on the lips are often caused by wrinkles in the heart. Yet, although we may "see" the conflict in the heart we cannot really know the depth of the bitterness that resides there. We may have our own experience, which although similar to the one we see, is never the same. To say, "I know how you feel," is a polite phrase; one often uttered as a replacement for unknown words of assurance. When we can't help others we at least want them to know that we can relate. But, Solomon says we can't. Only the person who carries the heart can know the pain and the joy of it. We might often see a lingering glow of self-confidence beaming from the face. But, we lack the depth of knowledge to know the real excitement and joy that precipitates the bursting forth of the springs of splendor. Only the heart knows the heart. We can emphasize, sympathize and over analyze, but we can never truly realize what the heart is feeling. A stranger doesn't know its pain or share its joy. The believer knows not the pain in the heart masked by the unbelievers false smirk. The unbeliever knows nothing of the unending peace within the heart of the believer despite the confused and contrite look on their cancer informed face. But Christ, while on this earth, felt all the pains, frustrations, disappointments, etc. that we feel. We can go to Him because He CAN relate to us. He has felt the rejection in the heart (read what happened to Him in Matthews 27). He has felt the fear (in the garden He prayed that the cross would be removed from His path). Yet, He felt all that without sin so that He might represent us and that He might be able to relate to us. We don't know what is in the heart of others but Jesus does.
No comments:
Post a Comment