Head vs. Heart

This morning I just finished Ecclesiastes in my daily Bible reading. There is lots of wisdom in it (makes sense -- since this book is part of a section of the Bible named "Wisdom Literature"). And yet to be honest with you it left me a bit cold. Here is this great king upon whom the Lord God bestowed an amazing amount of wisdom. And then He gave Solomon a pile of riches. And peace during his reign. King Solomon seemed to have it all. But from his reflections in Ecclesiastes, he tells us that "all" isn't enough.

What hit me as I read through this book is how the tone of it was so different from the psalms of David. The father of Solomon was a man after God's own heart, as Scripture says. And his heart for the Lord oozes out of the psalms. At times he was mad at God, other times he was overjoyed in Him. He cried out to the Lord when in danger or in grief. At many other times the king burst with praises to his God.

I may sound kooky, but when I compare the psalms with Ecclesiastes it seems to me that David had a deep heart relationship with the Lord that perhaps his son didn't have. I don't want to judge the man. I'm just making this observation.

This makes me think of various Christians that I've met over the years in different churches. I recall so well being in a Bible class where the parents of one of our class members was visiting. During discussion time, the father made a very articulate statement about the trinity. He seemed to know the Bible very well and could explain it clearly in Sunday school. As I ran into this man over the years,however, I never felt much warmth from him. He didn't seem to have much joy in his life. Is this because he has a head of knowledge and yet not a heart for Jesus? Again, I can't judge the man. I'm just wondering.

Our men's Bible class has just started a new series based on the excellent book by John Eldridge, Waking the Dead. It definitely deals with matters of the heart. Next week we'll look at a chapter titled, "Eyes of the Heart." It's based on that great prayer of Paul's in Ephesians where he asks God to open the eyes of the believers' hearts to the riches that are in Christ Jesus.

I pray that same prayer for you and me. Because I don't want us to be intellectually convinced of God and be satisfied with head knowledge alone. I want us to experience all that Jesus has to offer us -- and experience Him deeply in my heart.

How have you experienced Christ in your heart?

Jim