The Heart of the Matter: The Heart Matters

No matter how much I tried, I could never see the “hidden image.” I would stare. I would hold the picture close to my face. I would hold the picture away from my face. I even thought about crossing my eyes and standing on my head, just to try to see the “magic” hidden picture.

Magic Eye, Inc. created the infamous “magic eye” artwork that quickly flared into a 3D craze in the 1990s. Do you remember seeing people gathered around a funny, nonsense looking picture, staring blankly at it? Yup, that was most likely a Magic Eye picture. These special pictures are autostereograms, a single-image stereogram (optical illusion created from a two-dimensional [2D] picture), designed to create the illusion of a three-dimensional (3D) object. For you to see the 3D object in the picture, your brain must overcome the automatic coordination it does between focusing and vergence. It sounds quite complicated, and scientist have studied vision--and optical illusions--for many years. Basically, the Magic Eye pictures trick your eyes into seeing a 3D object amongst the 2D picture.

Despite the science, I still couldn’t see those crazy 3D objects! Apparently the illusion didn’t work: What I saw was what I got. For me, there was no “hidden” picture amongst the crazy shapes and colors.

The Pharisees were rather put off--Jesus’ disciples were making a nuisance of themselves, again. This rag-tag group of followers were an embarrassing example of Judaism. Didn’t they know better?! Finally, the Pharisees couldn’t take another moment of these sloppy, irreverent, so-called religious people, they just had to point out the disciples’ faults. Who better to complain to, than the leader, Jesus?

“Why do your disciples play fast and loose with the rules?" (v. 2, TM). They demanded to know. They wanted to know. They had to know. Why would people calling themselves believers, followers of God, not follow God’s rules? It just doesn’t make sense!

Keep in mind the Pharisees were experts at keeping God’s Law--they had it down to a science. This group took the Law of God seriously. They made sure the commandments Moses handed down to them from God would be followed to the “t.” No one would be able to accuse them of not trying to be the perfect God-followers. They went beyond the 10 Commandments, and added detailed notes, extra laws (over 600!), if you will, to ensure their compliance with God’s Law.

The Pharisees were good church people. They prayed, read Scripture, memorized verses, paid tithe, and even added a little extra to their Faith Promise commitment. The Pharisees were sure others saw that they obeyed the rules, colored within the lines, and were never caught saying, doing, or thinking anything “un-church people like.” The Pharisees had the perfect veneer. The disciples did not.

Pressed with their question, Jesus wisely replies: “Why do you use your rules to play fast and loose with God's commands? (v. 3, TM). Ouch. That had to sting their pride, just a little. After all this rag-tag, scruffy religious teacher just called them out. He dared to point to all the “stuff” they do to follow the rules, and say “baloney.” Apparently the lists of rules missed the mark of God’s commands.

Then Jesus turns to the crowd of people standing around; no doubt they were astonished and maybe even a little gleeful at Jesus’ reproach to the Pharisees. After all, the Pharisees, with all their religious pride, had looked down on them for years and years. But Jesus’ words to the crowd may have astounded them just as much . . . “listen and understand” (v. 10, NRSV). Basically He tells them to listen to what He says and put it together mentally--open your ears and hear--“get it, people!” It’s not what you touch, consume, or follow that makes you defiled, or unclean. It’s what comes out of your mouth. “Huh?” (Peter’s reply to Jesus.)

Put plainly, Jesus points out that all the things the Pharisees do or don’t do isn’t what makes them pure or closer to God. They could stand on their head, with their eyes crossed, but ultimately their hearts will reveal who they truly are. Doing stuff doesn’t create a pure heart in you. Following the rules doesn’t create a pure heart in you. Teaching Sunday School, paying tithe, having perfect church attendance doesn’t create a pure heart in you. Now, all these things are good, and are a part of your life in the community of believers. But they do not, in themselves, create a pure heart. Only God can do that.

We can constantly say, “I’m a Christian. Look at how good I am.” But unless our hearts and entire lives have been transformed by the grace of God, we’re just like the Pharisees: we use our religious rules to play fast and loose with God’s commands (remember His commands? Jesus simply stated them for us: Love God with everything you are and love your neighbor--even the ones you don’t particularly like). Jesus put it this way: What you say, do, and think comes from the heart. “For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile (vv. 18-20, NRSV). Great, you follow the rules. Jesus is looking at your heart. The two are related; you can’t pretend one and be the other. God is calling us to align who we are with what we do and say. We must realize that the heart of the matter is that the heart truly does matter.

Are you like the Magic Eye illusion pictures? Do others around you, friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, have to squint their eyes funny to see Christ in you? Do they scrunch up their noses, cross their eyes, and cock their heads to one side, trying to get a glimpse of the grace of God hidden in your life? Do you catch people, those who know you go to church on Sundays, standing on their heads trying to look at you?

Friends, the transformational grace of God through the love of Christ changes us so much that we are no longer a flat, confusing, 2D pictures of sin. The power of the Holy Spirit transforms us at the very core of who we are. God’s grace brings into focus who we were created to be, so that this amazing love shines out to all who look at us. We can’t hide God’s love in our lives, nor can we hide the destruction of sin. What we embrace, consume, allow to entertain us, spend time with colors us, takes root, and grows in our souls. When we embrace a relationship with God, it is God’s grace, peace, love, joy, kindness, gentleness, and power that colors us, takes root, and grows throughout our entire lives--not just our Sunday morning routine.

Recently we’ve had the joy of people embracing a new relationship with Christ. God has been transforming their lives--what an amazing witness to God’s grace! One thing that amazes me time and time, is the comment I hear about these new Christians: People at work, at home, in the neighborhood have notice something is different. People ask them, “What happened to you? You’re different. You don’t talk the same. You don’t act the same.” It’s as if the people around these new Christians are seeing Christ in their lives without having to scrunch up their noses, stand on their heads, or cross their eyes. Christ is shining through their lives--no hidden picture exists--it’s all there to see: God’s grace.

Are you trying to keep up the hidden picture? Running from the church service to Sunday School to volunteer meeting. All the while, you are trying to make sure people see the “right” picture--that they know you’re Christian. My friends, it’s a loosing battle, trying to keep up appearances. The Good News is that you don’t have to keep up appearances--Christ can change you to be who you are called to be--a transformed child of God.