Experiencing God's Heart

Learning to embrace God's love for you.

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Understanding a person’s heart toward you is crucial.

If someone has negative feelings or intentions, it can lead to conflict or even harm your well-being. Conversely, if someone has positive feelings or intentions, it can foster a strong, healthy relationship.

Understanding a person’s heart can help you make informed decisions about how to interact with them and whether or not to trust them. In essence, a person’s heart is the lens through which you interpret everything they say and do in relation to you.

This is especially important when someone says or does something that calls into question their intentions toward you.

Consider this from a child’s perspective. Sometimes being a good parent means making decisions that don’t feel good to your kids. For instance, kids need to eat healthy foods, practice healthy sleep habits, and have some protection and direction regarding both what is on the screens in front of them and how much time they spend on those screens.

Now, having been a kid myself and having three kids of my own, I understand that decisions like these can make children question their parents' intentions. These decisions can feel restrictive, punitive, or just plain mean. While some parents are indeed mean, by and large, such decisions do not stem from hard hearts that seek to harm a child’s well-being or steal their fun. Instead, they flow from a parent’s heart that is for their child—a heart of love, care, and nurture. A person’s heart toward us is the lens through which we interpret everything a person says and does, so it’s crucial that we understand the hearts of those with whom we’re in relationship.

This is never more true than in our relationship with God.

Often, what we feel about God is different from what He says is true about Himself.

• He says He’s with us, but we feel alone.

• He says He’s in control, but sometimes life feels like it may spin off its axis.

• He says He loves us, but we feel shame that makes us unsure.

So here’s a question I’d invite you to consider:

What do you do when what you feel about God is in conflict with what He says is true of Himself?

My answer? Come back to His heart.

Stories of God’s Heart

One of the best places to do this is Luke 15. Luke 15 contains three parables from Jesus that all speak of His heart toward us. Often, our attention runs to the story of the prodigal son, so let’s instead turn our attention to the two lesser-known stories.

But first, some context.

Luke 15:1-2 pictures two very different groups of people listening to Jesus: tax collectors and sinners. The presence of these “sinners” and specifically, Jesus’ unwillingness to chase them off and instead share meals with them, prompted harsh judgment from the religious leaders.

Per the norm, their response was unhealthy but entirely understandable. These men were appalled at the fact that Jesus would share a meal with those they deemed traitors and sinners. Imagine what you would feel if a person you admired accepted a group of people who had caused you or your loved ones great harm.

During Apartheid, many black South Africans were imprisoned and killed for their political beliefs. After the end of Apartheid, Nelson Mandela became the first black president of South Africa and worked to unite the country. Instead of seeking revenge against those who had imprisoned and killed his fellow activists, Mandela decided to create the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This commission allowed perpetrators of human rights violations during Apartheid to come forward and confess their crimes.

One of the most famous examples of this was the case of Eugene de Kock, a former police colonel who was responsible for the torture and murder of many anti-Apartheid activists. De Kock confessed to his crimes and showed genuine remorse for his actions. Mandela personally met with him and forgave him, saying that he hoped de Kock could find redemption and contribute positively to society.

Now, Mandela’s forgiveness and acceptance sound noble, but put yourself in the position of those who had loved ones de Kock had harmed. As you can imagine, many of them were furious, and those feelings are similar to the ones expressed here.

In ancient Near Eastern culture, sharing a meal was a symbol of acceptance. So these Pharisees were upset because Jesus welcomed those they had rejected. It’s into the self-righteous attitude of these religious leaders that Jesus proceeds to tell stories conveying God’s heart for all people.

Luke 15:4-10…

“What man among you, who has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open field and go after the lost one until he finds it? When he has found it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders, and coming home, he calls his friends and neighbors together, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep!’ I tell you, in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who don’t need repentance.

Or what woman who has ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found the silver coin I lost!’ I tell you, in the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.”

Jesus puts these religious leaders in a precarious position with these two stories. Because, like all of us, they wanted to identify with the protagonist of each of these stories.

So here’s their challenge. The Pharisees believed that shepherds were unclean. In fact, the average first-century Jew believed them to be dishonest and lawless. So Jesus’ use of a shepherd here would have bordered on offensive. No Pharisee would have been a shepherd, but Jesus invites them to imagine just that.

Additionally, women were deemed inferior to men in every way. So for Jesus to compare the heart and actions of the Father to a shepherd and a woman would have challenged these religious leaders to face their own prejudice and judgmental attitudes.

Now, all that being said, let’s examine these two stories a little closer.

The Lost Sheep

In the story of the lost sheep, Jesus compares the heart of God to a shepherd who has lost one of his hundred sheep. To Jesus’ listeners, this would have registered as a large flock. So much so that if a shepherd had a hundred sheep and lost one, he would have been fine and wouldn’t have needed to give much effort to finding it.

But that’s not the case for this shepherd in Jesus’ story. He goes to great lengths to find this single sheep, lifts it onto his shoulders, and carries it home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and throws a party celebrating this sheep’s return.

The Lost Coin

Similarly, this second story pictures a woman who has ten silver coins and loses one. She goes into action, turning the house upside down in search of it. This would have been no small task. First-century floors were made of dirt or stone and were covered with straw to protect against cold and dampness. So she would have had to clear out all that straw and sweep a dirt floor to find a singular coin.

Picturing this, I can’t help but think about how closely it resembles a regular experience in our house.

At least a few times a week, our Apple TV remote goes missing. Every time, it prompts a mini-panic. Every family member swears up and down they haven’t touched it. Then everything is picked up off the floor, furniture is moved, cushions are flipped over, and we search the entire house because there is no way of predicting where it’s gone.

Once, we lost our basement remote, so Tami did a deep clean to find it. As she tore apart our sofa, she found what she referred to as “a deep cavern” from which she pulled socks, a spoon, pencils, candy, Nerf darts, a full-size War Machine action figure, and my daughter’s first Gabb phone we thought she lost at Target.

Despite what this may lead you to believe, we’re clean people. The good news is, we found the remote. Each time we go through this dramatic process and find it, there is immense relief. But when this woman finds her lost coin, there’s not only relief like when we find our remote, but she goes so far as to throw a party, just like the shepherd who found his lost sheep.

When we examine God’s heart through the lens of these two stories, we learn an essential lesson:

God always seeks and celebrates His kids.

He loves us with His whole heart.

Nowhere is this more clear than in the very mission of Jesus’ earthly life and ministry.

Do you know that at least five times in the Gospels Jesus declares that He came “to seek and save the lost”—those who are lost in sin, confusion, pain, and loneliness?

Jesus doesn’t sit back waiting for us to find Him. He entered human history on a rescue mission, seeking to save us from lostness in all its forms.

Additionally, His posture toward you is one of celebration. Delete any images of an angry or disappointed God who merely tolerates you. Three times in Luke 15, Jesus uses stories to tell us that God celebrates us!

Psalm 18:19 says, “…[God] rescued me because he delighted in me.” That wasn’t just true for the Psalmist; it’s also true of you and me.

In Hosea 13, God is compared to a mother bear, and in Matthew 23, Jesus compares Himself to a mother hen. I mention that because there is biblical precedent for the heart of God being described through the example of animals.

To that end, I want you think about the delight on a dogs face when it’s owner comes home. Cats always look indifferent, like “Who do you think you are coming back home and interrupting my quiet?” But I can leave the room for 12 seconds and when I come back, it’s like my dog has never been happier to see me. He’s so obviously delighted by my presence!

So, when it comes to God’s heart toward you, He’s like a dog, not a cat. He delights in you and as a result, celebrates you!

So now, take a moment to imagine God’s face when He looks at you. Close your eyes and imagine what His expression is like. If you don’t see delight, you have not fully embraced His heart.

He loves you with His whole heart.

You may have heard this before: God seeks you out in your sin and shame, and He loves and celebrates you. But experiencing these truths can be challenging.

What should you do? Some people would say it’s irrelevant how you feel and that you should focus solely on what Scripture says. But it’s difficult to trust and relate to a God who you don’t feel loves you. You need to experience it in your heart, not just know it with your head. As Brennan Manning writes in “Abba’s Child”,

“We are not merely to believe in His love intellectually but to feel it in the marrow of our spirit.”

Only God can make that experience real. While various spiritual practices can help, the first step is to pray and ask the Spirit to help you experience God’s love.

So, this week, I’d invite you to try a simple breath prayer. Find a quiet space, get comfortable, and start breathing deeply.

On your inhale, pray: “Abba, Father…”

On your exhale, pray: “You love me with your whole heart.”

Imagine Him throwing a party in your honor. Imagine Him celebrating you with delight. Imagine Him smiling over you, embracing you, and lavishing you with His love. The more we sit and contemplate these realities, the more they permeate our experience.

So as you move through this day, hear God saying to you, “I love you with my whole heart.”