The Heart and the Compass
"I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel; my heart also instructs me in night seasons." --Psalm 16:7
I love to read cereal boxes at breakfast. I don't know why; I just do. When I was a kid, one box told about how to make your own compass. Take a sewing needle; rub it with a refrigerator magnet; place it on top of something that will float, like a cork or a plastic bottle cap and watch what happens. When it becomes magnetized, the needle comes in line with the earth's magnetic field and will seek out magnetic north.
It's the basic concept behind most compasses, really. Find something magnetic, put in something that will allow it to move freely and watch it point to magnetic north. But, if the needle isn't attuned to the magnetic field of the earth, it can lead a person astray.
David tells us the same thing in this Psalm.
As we take counsel in the Lord, it's like we rub our hearts against his. As we hear his Word and receive the Sacrament and are mindful of our Baptism, we receive the Lord's counsel and our hearts are attuned to his. So that, our sin leads us astray, in that darkness, our hearts can lead us back to where he is. This is how God has made us, this is why he has redeemed us, and this is the goal of sanctification.
When I was in college or Seminary, some professor used these words of St. Augustine as a daily prayer: "Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee." The heart seeks rest, a rest that can only be found in Christ. Attune your heart to him and follow your heart.
I love to read cereal boxes at breakfast. I don't know why; I just do. When I was a kid, one box told about how to make your own compass. Take a sewing needle; rub it with a refrigerator magnet; place it on top of something that will float, like a cork or a plastic bottle cap and watch what happens. When it becomes magnetized, the needle comes in line with the earth's magnetic field and will seek out magnetic north.
It's the basic concept behind most compasses, really. Find something magnetic, put in something that will allow it to move freely and watch it point to magnetic north. But, if the needle isn't attuned to the magnetic field of the earth, it can lead a person astray.
David tells us the same thing in this Psalm.
As we take counsel in the Lord, it's like we rub our hearts against his. As we hear his Word and receive the Sacrament and are mindful of our Baptism, we receive the Lord's counsel and our hearts are attuned to his. So that, our sin leads us astray, in that darkness, our hearts can lead us back to where he is. This is how God has made us, this is why he has redeemed us, and this is the goal of sanctification.
When I was in college or Seminary, some professor used these words of St. Augustine as a daily prayer: "Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee." The heart seeks rest, a rest that can only be found in Christ. Attune your heart to him and follow your heart.
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