Are All These Heart Patients?

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 few years ago, I found myself sitting in the waiting room of Presbyterian Hospital in downtown Dallas.  I was there for a two-day stress test, just to see that everything under the hood was in working order.  For me, the real stress test had occurred prior to my arrival at the hospital.  After facing the traffic between Dallas and Fort Worth, especially during early morning rush hour, I figured any test they threw at me would be pretty much a cakewalk! 

My appointment on Thursday morning was set for 10:30. I arrived 45 minutes early, just to be on the safe side.  When I entered the waiting room, there were already several people occupying chairs and sofas, reading magazines or talking to family members, trying to pass the time until their name was called to see the doctor or go for testing.

About 30 minutes into my wait, an older gentleman entered with a younger man I took to be his son.  After completing the preliminary paperwork, they took a seat across the room from me.  As the gentleman sat down, he blurted out in a rather loud and somewhat surprised voice, “Are these all heart patients?” 

At first, I thought the question somewhat rhetorical since we were all waiting to see a cardiologist or to take different types of tests for our hearts.  But the more I thought about his words and the more they resounded in my ears, the more I began to think this man had made a statement that had profound implications.

The prophet Samuel learned firsthand that God is a cardiologist at heart (no pun intended).  When asked to anoint the next king of Israel, Samuel saddles up his donkey and goes to Bethlehem to visit Jesse and to select one of his sons to rule Israel.  Upon his arrival, Samuel is very impressed with Jesse’s oldest son, Abinadab.  This young man is handsome, tall, well-built, and carries himself as a king should.  Samuel is ready to dump his horn of oil right then on Abinidab’s head when God calls him up short and teaches him a very important lesson; a lesson we need to hear again today!

1 Samuel 16:7 gives us God’s perspective on human nature: “But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

Talk about a stress test!  God wanted Samuel to know that outward appearances count for nothing; it is the inward attitude which God sees and the character of heart for which he searches.  Outwardly, Abinadab possessed all the desirable attributes, but inwardly something was lacking.  Abinidab’s baby brother, David, a young boy not so handsome, not so tall, not so well built, but one whose heart was right before the Lord possessed that something lacking in his older brother.

On that Thursday morning I learned this truth all over again.  The answer to that man’s question was, and is, a resounding yes.  All of us in the waiting room that day were heart patients.  In fact, as far as God is concerned all of us are heart patients.  God wants to change our hearts, to make them better, to cleanse them and restore them to a right relationship with Him.  This can only be done when we accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of our lives.

How long has it been since you had your heart examined?  The stresses and strains of every-day life leave all of us in need of a checkup on a regular basis.  God wants to look into your heart, to examine it, and make whole.  Won’t you make an appointment today to have your heart examined and repaired by the Great Physician?  You’ll be glad you did!