Heart Problems
If you want to get someone’s attention, tell them that they have heart problems. There are some sinister words that describe heart disease. Angina is chest pain caused by insufficient blood flow to the heart. Arrhythmia is an irregular heartbeat. Cardiomyopathy is the condition where the heart muscle is stretched, thickened or stiff and the heart is not able to effectively pump blood. Endocarditis describes an infection of the valves or lining of the heart. To be honest, any “cardio” problem strikes fear into our heart (pardon the pun). The English word, “cardia,” is a transliteration of the Greek word, heart. While most people fear having “heart disease,” God also gives warnings in regard to the heart.
When God warns about problems with the human heart, He is not referring to the blood-pumping organ in our chest. Let me preface that discussion with a story. In the three years that Jesus educated and trained His 12 disciples, He taught them many things. One of the key teachings that Jesus shared with His followers was that He came to die for the sins of mankind. This may sound “spot on” in our thinking, but it was a radically different concept to the disciples. They expected a political Messiah who would get rid of the Roman Empire and establish a new kingdom like the old monarchy King David established roughly 1,000 years earlier. So, when Jesus was actually killed, the disciples were surprised and devastated. They could not fathom the value and purpose of Jesus’ crucifixion. Not surprisingly, they also did not expect Jesus to rise from the dead (which He predicted as well). When Jesus fulfilled His purpose and promises regarding His crucifixion, death, and resurrection, the disciples feared the worst. They went into hiding, thinking that they were next on the “hit list.” Despite their hiding, Jesus made Himself visible and available. On what we call “Easter Sunday,” the women announced that they had seen Jesus. The other disciples scoffed at this unbelievable news. Again, let me remind you that what the early disciples were seeing and experiencing was astounding. Who would not have a difficult time assimilating these amazing events?
In Mark 16:14 Jesus has words of rebuke for His disciples: “Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.” As Jesus was chastising the disciples, He was pointing out their “stubborn refusal” to believe what He had repeatedly told them. The Greek word translated “stubborn refusal” is “sklerocardia.” Yes, here is that Greek word for heart (cardia). The Greeks combined two words here: "cardia" refers to the heart, and "sklero" speaks of being hard, thick, callous or tough. Thus, the translation “stubborn refusal or hard-hearted.” In this correction, Jesus is speaking about “heart disease.” He was not speaking of their physical heart. Jesus was speaking of their inner values, thoughts and assumptions. Just as a physically ailing heart will critically affect our lives, so will a corrupt or stubborn inner heart.
How often does God have to “soften” our hearts? We all know that we can be slow to change our minds and the ideas we cling to. Oftentimes, God calls us to a life that is radically different than the life we are accustomed to or what we expected. Sometimes we are afraid of embracing the unknown. God made mankind for a life that is far grander and better than we have ever seen or imagined. God calls us to trust Him. He demands that we abandon the sinful ways and habits that we have fallen into. We would be wise to remember that even though the disciples initially stumbled in their obedience to the call of Jesus, they did embrace this new way. They found a peace and strength that only came from walking with Jesus. As we follow our Lord, as we submit our will to the will of King Jesus, we find that “spiritual medicine” that heals our ailing hearts. Keep looking up!