HAVING A PROPER HEART
Having an Understanding Mind
We all have to learn that for God’s dealing our mind must be as clear as possible. In order to take a good picture with a camera, the lens must be very clear. Our mind must be very clear. The minds of many brothers and sisters are not clear concerning God. They are still covered under a veil. The veil has not been taken away (2 Cor. 3:15-16). This is why we have to come to the meetings, listen to messages, read the Word, and read spiritual books. This will help us to clear up the mind. The enemy Satan always tries his best to keep people away from the proper knowledge. To be without knowledge is to be under a cover. What our mind needs is to be clear. We must have an understanding mind.
The Scriptures speak of an understanding heart. In 1 Kings 3:9 Solomon asks, “Give therefore to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people and to discern between good and evil.” In the parable of the sower in Matthew 13, the seed is sown in the heart, but if someone does not understand the word, Satan snatches it away (v. 19). For the heart to be understanding means that the mind of the heart is in a good condition. Because the mind is the “lens” of the whole person, it must be clear. We must have a clear understanding, a clear mind concerning God. However, the minds of too many Christians are not clear. It is hard to speak the things of God to them. They are under darkness; their mind is blinded, and they are “darkened in their understanding” (Eph. 4:18).
Having a Loving Emotion
In addition, our emotion must be loving. We need to love the Lord from our whole heart (Mark 12:30), that is, from the emotional part of our heart. Our emotion should be loving, not toward something else but toward God Himself. Some Christians have a clear mind, but they are short of a loving heart. They do not love the Lord with their emotions. Their treasure is not the Lord Himself. The Lord Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matt. 6:21). If our treasure is the Lord Himself, then our emotion toward Him is loving; we will love Him in our emotion. Some may say, “Don’t be too emotional. You are too emotional toward the Lord.” We are not emotional enough; we need to be more emotional. I wish that every one of you would weep for the Lord each day. We need to be emotional. A person can never be spiritual if he is not emotional. In order to be spiritual, we have to be emotional.
Having a Right Conscience
Our conscience must also be right. It must not be wrong. We have to be right with God, right with others, and right with everything in our conscience. In our conscience we must be right toward everyone and everything.
Having a Soft and Submissive Will
Moreover, our will must be soft and submissive. To be soft is one hundred percent different from being weak. Our will must be strong but not hard or stiff.
Our mind must be clear before the Lord; our emotion must be loving; our conscience must be completely right with the Lord, being wrong in nothing; and our will must be soft and submissive. If we put these four things together, we have a proper heart. We need to deal with these four matters. We should check whether or not our mind is clear. If not, then our heart can never be right, because our mind is darkened. Then we should check, do we love the Lord? Are we right according to our conscience with God, man, and everything? Is our will soft and submissive?
(Practical Lessons on the Experience of Life, Chapter 9, by Witness Lee)
