As you read this article, you will be able to see your own heart. Allow God’s searching light to show you the condition of your heart. Acknowledge your sins and do not deny their existence, for God’s Words tells us that “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and there is no truth in us. But if we confess our sins to God, He will keep His promise and do what is right: He will forgive us our sins and purify us from all our wrongdoing” (1 John 1:8, 9).
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You are ruled either by Satan or by God; you are a slave to sin or a servant of God. If sin rules your life, do not deny it, but cry out to God. He will in His infinite mercy set you free through Jesus Christ who came to this world to save sinners, to break the power of Satan and sin over us. He is our Saviour. You are in the presence of a holy God who sees all secrets, the hidden thoughts and actions of your life. “He watches every step men take. There is no darkness dark enough to hide a sinner from God” (Job. 34:21, 22).
I will give example of what is inside of a human heart and what they stands for; the Peacock, the Goat, the Pig, the Tortoise, the Leopard, the Snake, and the Frog.
With all these, “Who can understand the human heart? There is nothing else so deceitful; it is too sick to be healed” (Jeremiah 17:9). “…It is what comes out of a person that makes him unclean. For from the inside, from a person’s heart, come the evil ideas which lead him to do immoral things, to rob, kill, commit adultery, be greedy and do all sort of evil things; deceit, indecency, jealousy, slander, pride and folly – all these evil things come from inside a person and make him unclean” (Mark 7:20-23).
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THE PEACOCK speaks of the sin of pride. THE GOAT represents worldly desires, immorality, and adultery. THE PIG speaks of the sins of drunkenness and gluttony. THE TORTOISE speaks of laziness, sluggishness to obey and witchcraft. THE LEOPARD is a very cruel beast and represents hatred, anger and a bad temper. THE SNAKE represents jealousy. THE FROG speaks here of the sins of greediness and the love of money which is the source of all kinds of evil.
1 Tim. 6:10. Satan is the father of all lies, and of them that tell lies. John 8:44. The STAR is the conscience in the heart of every man. Here it is dirty and evil. The EYE of God sees everything that goes on in the heart. Nothing can be hidden from His flaming eye. The LITTLE TONGUES OF FIRE round about the heart represents the love of God surrounding the sinful heart. The ANGEL represents the Word of God. The DOVE is the sign of the Holy Spirit.
THE SECOND PICTURE shows a REPENTING HEART that begins to look for God. Here he begins to obey the message of God and opens his heart to the love of God. The Holy Spirit shines in and the light of God enters and drives all darkness away. The angel is holding the sword, the Word of God, which is “alive and active, sharper than any double-edge sword. It cuts all the way through, to where soul and spirit meet. It judges the desires and thoughts of man’s heart. “Hebr. 4:12. “Wash away all my evil and make me clean from my sin! Create a pure heart in me, O God, and put a new and loyal spirit in me.” Psalm 51:2-10.
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The Third Picture shows us the heart condition of a really REPENTANT SINNER. He now sees the greatness and awfulness of his many sins for which Jesus died on the cross. He is moved with deep heart-felt regret and sorrow over his sinful ways. “My sacrifice is a humble spirit, O God; you will not reject a humble and repentant heart. ‘Psalm 51:17. “The blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from every sin.”1 John 1:7-9. “I am pleased with those who are humble and repentant, who fear me and obey me. “is. 66:2. “If you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised Him from death, you will be saved.” Rom. 10:9.
The Fourth Picture speaks of a Christian who has found perfect peace and eternal salvation through the sacrifice of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and therefore boasts in nothing else, but “only about the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ; Gal. 6:14. Jesus died on the cross so that we too, might “die to sin and live for righteousness. “1 Peter 2:24. We are commanded to “let the spirit direct our lives, and we will not satisfy the desires of the human nature, “Gal. 5:16, 25. There are many so-called Christians who pray, share in the Lord’s Supper, sing the songs of God and yet, by their sinful actions, are constantly crucifying the Son of God again. Heb. 6:6. Here we also find the bag of money belonging to Judas, who betrayed the Lord Jesus and sold Him for thirty silver coins. The lantern, chains etc. were used by the soldiers who took Jesus prisoner by night. The dice, so often used for gambling, were used by the soldiers when they gambled for His clothes. Psalm 22:18. They took everything from Jesus, but Himself they rejected, saying “We don’t want this man to be our king”.
With the spear, the soldiers pierced His side and heart “and at once blood and water poured out.” John 19:33-37. “In the same way you are to think of yourselves as dead, so far as sin is concerned, but living in fellowship with God through Christ Jesus. Sin must no longer rule in your mortal bodies, so that you obey the desires of your natural self.” Rom. 6:11, 12. “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Col. 3:3.
The Fifth Picture shows the Clean and Purified Heart of the sinner saved by the God’s abundant grace and mercy. It has become a true temple of God, the home of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, according to the promise of the Lord Jesus Christ. “Whoever loves s me will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and my Father and I will come to him and live with him.” John 14:23.
Instead of being the breeding place of sin, the heart has become a beautiful, fruit-bearing tree bearing fruits of the Holy Spirit, such as love, joy, peace, humility, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, self-control and others which are acceptable and pleasing to God and man. Gal. 5:22, 23.
In this picture we also notice the angel re-appearing. Angels are re-appointed to “guard those who honour the Lord and rescue them from danger.” Psalm 24:7. The devil is also standing close to the heart, as if watching for an opportunity to re-enter his former home. Therefore we are warned to “be alert, be on the watch! Your enemy, the devil, roams round like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8. “Surely you know that you are God’s temple and that Go’s Spirit lives in you!” 1 Cor. 3:16, 6:19, 20.
The Sixth Picture is the sad picture of a BACKSLIDER. One eye is beginning to close, showing that he is beginning to grow cold and sleepy in his Christian life, while the other eye is shamelessly looking around, making love to the world. The light within has grown dim, and the symbols in his heart, showing his readiness to suffer with Christ, are no longer upright. He is surrounded by temptations to which he is slowly giving in instead of resisting them. Although he may still be a church-goer, hiding his worldliness under a cloak of religion, the love of God has grown cold in his heart. The star in his heart, the conscience, grows dim. The cross is no longer carried with a smile, but becomes an unwelcome, heavy load. “Keep watch and pray that you will not fall into temptation. The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matt. 26:41. “My righteous people, however, will believe and live; but if any of them turns back, I will not be pleased with him.” Heb. 10:38. “Remember Lot’s wife.” Luke 17:32.
The Seventh Picture reveals the condition of the BACK-SLIDDEN HEART of a man. “For how can those who abandon their faith be brought back to repent again? They were once in God’s light; they tasted heaven’s gift and received their share of the Holy Spirit.” Heb. 6:4. A man, who is stubborn when God speaks to him, will grow worse in spite of his worthless effort to change himself. Concerning the backslider, Jesus Himself described his position, when he said: “When an evil spirit goes out of a person, it travels over dry country looking for a place to rest. If it can’t find one, it says to itself, ‘I will go back to my house.’ So it goes back and finds the house clean and tidy. Then it goes out and brings seven other spirits even worse than itself, and they come and live there. So when it is all over, that person is in a worse state than he was at the beginning.”
Luke 11:24-26. “What happened to them shows that the proverbs are true: ‘A dog goes back to what it has vomited’ and ‘A pig that has been washed goes back to roll in the mud.’ “2 Peter 2:22. Should this picture correspond with the condition of your heart, my dear friend, cry to God without delay, from the depth of your heart. “He is able, now and always, to save those who come to God through Him. “Heb. 7:25. “If you hear God’s voice today, do not be stubborn.” Heb. 4:7. “If you get more stubborn every time you are corrected, one day you will be crushed and never recover. “Prov. 29:1.
The Eighth Picture shows the STUBBORN SINNER who has postponed making a decision for Christ, approaching death. Death (the skeleton) has come at an unexpected and unwanted time. The false pleasures of sin have disappeared, and the awful reality of the high and dreadful cost of sin now has to be faced. The agonies of hell are becoming real to him. Although he now longs to pray he finds he cannot communicate with God whose love he has rejected for so long. “For sin pays its wages – death.” Rom. 6:23. “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Heb. 10:31. “In Hades (the word of the dead), he was in great pain.” Luke 16:19-31.
The Ninth Picture represents A CHRISTIAN WHO REMAINS FAITHFUL AND WINS THE VICTORY over painful tests and temptation. While he is tempted on all sides, he remains firm and holds out to the end, being victorious through Jesus Christ. Satan with all his demons surrounds the believing heart, trying to lead the child of God the wrong way. A man, holding a glass of wine in the one hand, dances around the Christian and tries to tempt him with the false pleasures of the world. It has, however, no effect on the dedicated Christian, as he has been put to death with Christ as far as sin and worldly desires are concerned. The Star of his conscience is clear and bright. The Open Bag of Money shows that not only his heart but also his money is dedicated to God. The Loaf of Bread and The Fish indicate that he lives a clean and self-controlled life. He does not spoil his life with strong drink.
The Open Book indicates that the Bible is an open to him, and he reads and studies it daily. “Who, then, can separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble do it, or hardship or persecution or hunger or poverty or danger or death? No, in all these things we have complete victory through Him who loved!” Rom. 8:35-37. “So everyone who lives union with Christ does not continue to sin.” 1 John 3:6-10. “Because every child of God is able to defeat the world. And we win the victory over the world by means of our faith.” 1 John 5:4, 5. “No, in all these things we have complete victory through Him who loved us!” Rom. 8:37.
In The Tenth Picture we see that a person who has lived and walked with God is not afraid of death. When the time comes for him to die, he will go gladly, as the Apostle Paul puts it, “I want very much to leave this life and to be with Christ, which is a far better thing.” Phil. 1:23. “There are many rooms in my Father’s house. I will come back and take you to myself, so that you will be where I am.” John 14:1-4. “What no one ever saw or heard what no one ever thought could happen, is the very thing God prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Cor. 2:9. “Happy are those who from now on die in the service of the Lord! They will enjoy rest from their hard work, because the results of their service go with them.” Rev. 14:13. “Well done, you good and faithful servant!” Matt. 25:21.
Let us pray
O God I come to you with my sinful and stubborn heart. I cannot change it. Take my heart just as it is. Create a pure heart in me, O God. Fill me with your Holy Spirit and love. Amen
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