THE 18-INCH GAP

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

 

Matthew 22:37-38

“Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.”

 

What future would there be in a marriage if a man said to his fiancé,

 

 “I want to get married to you and sign the marriage license, but I have no real love for you?”

 

On the other hand, what future would there be in a marriage if a man said to his fiancé,

 

“I love you with all my heart, but I don’t want to sign that stupid marriage license, it’s just a binding contract that I can’t live by?”

 

There’s a problem in either situation. There’s an 18-inch gap between the heart and the mind. On the one hand the man sees the feasibility of getting married and feels that the benefits outweigh the liabilities. He sees that there could be a lot of advantages to getting married. He doesn’t see that love has anything to do with the situation. It’s simply a contract of convenience that binds two people together in a relationship. With his mind he has got it all laid out and it’s logical to proceed with the marriage. In his mind, “What’s love got to do with it?”

 

In the other situation we see a man passionately in love with his lady, but he is unwilling to make a commitment of security to bind him to the relationship. While he loves his significant other with all his heart, his mind can’t make a pledge to live with her according to a contract of law for the rest of his life. Again there’s an 18-inch gap between the mind and the heart. He is head-over-heels in love with this woman and in his heart he loves her deeply, but in his mind he is distant and detached. He wants to follow his heart, but his mind keeps him from pursuing the signing of the marriage license.

 

The basis for a stable marriage is a passionate heart-felt love for each other, but also a commitment of the mind to the binding eternal contract that is involved in marriage. Both are crucial for the stability of a life-long marriage. It is important that those in a marriage have the security and boundaries of being legally and formally bonded to one another under the law of the land as mates. This involves the commitment of the mind to the relationship so that when the passionate emotions run low or arguments arise there is more holding the marriage together than just past emotional feelings. The commitment of the mind fosters a dedication to be faithful to one another. At the same time a marriage commitment based on a passionate love for one another fosters an environment of ever deepening emotions. There is a desire to seek ways to love the other person for the rest of their life in a multitude of ways. There is an aspiration to keep the flame of love alive as long as the other lives. On this foundation of the heart and mind a marriage will thrive and grow. It is also true that as followers of Christ we are to honor God’s instructions on marriage and what it entails as far as commitment, respect and dedication to who we marry. A Christian marriage is more than a legal contract and is also more than emotional love. It is a bond between two people before their Heavenly Father that they will remain faithful to one another, will love and respect each other as well as follow the guidelines in Holy scripture as to their roles in the marriage. It also entails the dedication to help each other grow more mature in their spiritual life patterned after Jesus Christ.

 

Believe it or not the commitment we make to Christ has many similarities. The church is called the Bride of Christ and each of us as Believers have accepted Him as our Lord and Savior. In our commitment to Christ we have made a decision to love Him with all our heart, mind and soul. While the distance from the mind to the heart is only 18 inches, it can be a horrible chasm if our heart and mind are not mutually engaged in our relationship with our Lord. Unfortunately there are many dysfunctional Christians walking around who have not established a firm foundation for their relationship with Christ. There is even some doubt as to the validity of a claim of someone being a Christian if they have an 18-inch gap in their commitment to Christ. If our mind and heart are not in synch, if they are not on the same page, if they are not in tune to one another when it comes to our commitment to Christ, our faith may be faulty.

 

Many people claim to be a Christian because they have studied the scriptures and feel that it is logical that they should make a commitment to Christ, but in mind only. There is no passion in these people and no heart-felt conviction of sin. They see it as a legal arrangement between themselves and God. They agree to accept Christ as their Savior but fail to accept Him as their Lord. Lacking love for Jesus they go through life spiritually cold and frigid, failing to grow in faith because there is no motivation from their heart to do so. They can often point to the exact moment they “became a Christian,” but cannot give evidence that it has had a single impact in any area of their lives. Their commitment to Christ was more like joining a club or organization. They consider themselves members of God’s family but fail to contribute anything to the Kingdom of God or to their own spiritual lives. They do not serve or reach out to others. Prayer is lacking in their lives and any knowledge of who the Holy Spirit is often very deficient and meager. A heartless faith is dead faith. This is the faith of demons as it states in James 2:18-19, “Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that — and shudder.”

 

Of course many people claim to be Christians based on only the emotions of the heart. They love the Lord immensely with feelings that are overwhelming but they would never seek to read His scriptures. They don’t want to be bogged down with how to obey God through following the teachings of Christ. They just want to love God. They enjoy loving God emotionally but frown on letting His Word sink deep into their minds. They want to feel God but do not wish to really know Him intimately. They worship not their Heavenly Father, but the feelings they experience in loving Him. It’s possible they love the idea of God but not the person of God. Spiritual discipline, prolonged prayer, self-sacrificial ministry to others and sacrificial giving are too painful for these individuals. They want the comfortable feeling of just loving God. These individuals remind me of Peter’s statement in the Gospels when he said he would die with Christ and never deny Him. Of course we all know what happened. Peter loved Jesus enough to die for Him but not enough to live for Him. Possibly Peter was one of these individuals who loved God only with His heart but not his mind. Only after Jesus was raised from the dead and Peter received the Holy Spirit did Peter begin to live fully for Christ in a balanced manner.

 

Yes, in order to be balanced in the Christian life you must live according to Matthew 22:37-38,

 

“Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.

 

Your complete being must be dedicated to God. Your heart, mind and soul must be totally enthralled with your relationship with your Heavenly Father. You must worship and serve Christ with all your heart, mind and soul. You must allow Him to be Lord and Master of not just your heart, not just your mind, not just your soul, but all three of them. Any unbalanced dedication will lead to problems in your Christian life and service to your King.

 

Some of us are more cerebral in our relationship with God and we must strive to encourage our heart to grow in commitment to our Lord. We struggle with emotionally “feeling” our faith and must seek to expand our pursuit of God with our heart so that we can more deeply love Him.

 

Others of us are more emotional in their relationship with God and these Christians must strive to encourage a more studious approach to God’s word. These Christians must seek to study God’s word, meditate upon it and seek to comprehend its meaning and application so that their mind can move in the ways of the Lord.

 

When there is balance in each of our lives with our heart, mind and soul it contributes balance in our spiritual dedication to God. This will impact and build a foundation for the praise we give our Lord, the ministry to others in Christ’s name, the worship we give to our Heavenly Father, our prayer life, our service to others in the name of Christ and the scriptural knowledge we acquire as we grow in our spiritual life. Living such a godly life empowered by the Holy Spirit result in honor and praise for our Heavenly father. It honors the Father, Son and Spirit immensely when we are balanced spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically. It also assures that Christ’s church is balanced; as His Disciples fellowship together and serve their great King.

 

Acts 4:31-33

“After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.”