Devo Week 39

Aiming at the Heart -- Stories and Myths

Many talk about the distance between the head and the heart. This is what distinguished Jesus' approach from the Pharisees'. The Pharisees focused on the law and strict obedience. Jesus stirred hearts. True change comes when hearts are engaged.

Key Concept: Engaging the Heart

Jesus focused upon the hearts of people from the place of relationship. He even reduced the Law and Ten Commandments down to two: love God and love your neighbor. (Matt. 22:37-40) Love is our foundation. We obey because we love.

Jesus also spoke in many parables, hiding the truth within the story. The more receptive we are to God, the more truth is revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. Stories, parables, legends and myths have a way of speaking to the heart, bypassing our minds, and are easily remembered and spread throughout the culture.

The parable of the house built upon the rock was a clever way of communicating truth across time and location. It is true that we must have a solid foundation for our lives wherever we live. It is also true that storms will come into every situation. The key issue becomes: who are we trusting, and who are we following in life?

As John Eldredge has written, "Story is the language of the heart." When sharing the Gospel, it is necessary to engage the heart and not the mind only. The parables of Jesus hide the truth of the Gospel in our hearts — the wellspring of life. (Prov. 4:23)

Our most powerful conversations about the Gospel came when we paralleled the Akha and Akeu stories with the Gospel. We considered their stories and how they might reveal Jesus within their context. Their legends of the Buffalo Skin and Village Gate became ways for us to communicate the truth of the Gospel within their local setting. As the Gospel is revealed locally, Jesus can engage the hearts of the people.

Key Word Definition: myths (plural noun)

-- a traditional or legendary story, usually concerning some being or hero or event, with or without a determinable basis of fact or a natural explanation, especially one that is concerned with deities or demigods and explains some practice, rite, or phenomenon of nature

Excerpt from Devotional 39 with highlighted word:

"Where history targets the head and reason, stories and myths aim straight for the heart. Like a skilled archer, the Holy Spirit can pierce our hearts with truth through stories, oftentimes bypassing our minds. (I Cor. 2:9-10)"

Scripture: Matthew 7:24

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”