IN SIDE A LITTLE BOYS' HEART
"Tomorrow morning," the surgeon began, "I'll open up your heart..."
"You'll find Jesus there," the boy interrupted.
The surgeon looked up, annoyed "I'll cut your heart open," he continued, to see how much damage has been done..."
"But when you open up my heart, you'll find Jesus in there," said the boy.
The surgeon looked to the parents, who sat quietly. "When I see how much damage has been done, I'll sew your heart and chest back up, and I'll plan what to do next."
"But you'll find Jesus in my heart. The Bible says He lives there. The hymns all say He lives there. You'll find Him in my heart."
The surgeon had had enough. "I'll tell you what I'll find in your heart. I'll find damaged muscle, low blood supply, and weakened vessels. And I'll find out if I can make you well."
"You'll find Jesus there too. He lives there."
The surgeon left.
The surgeon sat in his office, recording his notes from the surgery, "...damaged aorta, damaged pulmonary vein, widespread muscle degeneration. No hope for transplant, no hope for cure. Therapy: painkillers and bed rest. Prognosis:, " here he paused, "death within one year."
He stopped the recorder, but there was more to be said. "Why?" he asked aloud. "Why did You do this? You've put him here; You've put him in this pain; and You've cursed him to an early death. Why?"
The Lord answered and said, "The boy, My lamb, was not meant for your flock for long, for he is a part of My flock, and will forever be. Here, in My flock, he will feel no pain, and will be comforted as you cannot imagine. His parents will one day join him here, and they will know peace, and My flock will continue to grow."
The surgeon's tears were hot, but his anger was hotter. "You created that boy, and You created that heart. He'll be dead in months. Why?"
The Lord answered, "The boy, My lamb, shall return to My flock, for He has done his duty: I did not put My lamb with your flock to lose him, but to retrieve another lost lamb."
The surgeon wept. The surgeon sat beside the boy's bed; the boy's parents sat across from him. The boy awoke and whispered, "Did you cut open my heart?"
"Yes," said the surgeon.
"What did you find?" asked the boy.
"I found Jesus there," said the surgeon.
Author Unknown
WHAT IS MEANT BY THE WORD "HEART"
IN THE BIBLE
The center of the physical, mental, and spiritual life of humans. This contrasts to the normal use of kardia (heart) in Greek literature outside the Scriptures. The New Testament follows the Old Testament usage when referring to the human heart in that it gives kardia a wider range of meaning than it was generally accustomed to have. First, the word heart refers to the physical organ and is considered to be the center of the physical life. Eating and drinking are spoken of as strengthening the heart (Gen. 18:5; Judg. 19:5; Acts 14:17). As the center of physical life, the heart came to stand for the person as a whole. The heart became the focus for all the vital functions of the body; including both intellectual and spiritual life. The heart and the intellect are closely connected, the heart being the seat of intelligence: For this peoples heart is waxed gross ... lest at any time they should ... understand with their heart, and should be converted (Matt. 13:15). The heart is connected with thinking: As a person thinketh in his heart, so is he (Prov. 23:7). To ponder something in ones heart means to consider it carefully (Luke 1:66; 2:19). To set ones heart on is the literal Hebrew that means to give attention to something, to worry about it (1 Sam. 9:20). To call to heart (mind) something means to remember something (Isa. 46:8). All of these are functions of the mind, but are connected with the heart in biblical language.
Closely related to the mind are acts of the will, acts resulting from a conscious or even a deliberate decision. Thus, 2 Corinthians 9:7: Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give. Ananias contrived his deed of lying to the Holy Spirit in his heart (Acts 5:4). The conscious decision is made in the heart (Rom. 6:17). Connected to the will are human wishes and desires. Romans 1:24 describes how God gave them up through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies. David was a man after Gods own heart because he would fulfill all of Gods will (Acts 13:22).
Not only is the heart associated with the activities of the mind and the will, but it is also closely connected to the feelings and affections of a person. Emotions such as joy originate in the heart (Ps. 4:7; Isa 65:14). Other emotions are ascribed to the heart, especially in the Old Testament. Nabals fear is described by the phrase: his heart died within him (1 Sam. 25:37; compare Ps. 143:4). Discouragement or despair is described by the phrase heaviness in the heart which makes it stoop (Prov. 12:25). Again, Ecclesiastes 2:20 says, Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labor which I took under the sun. Another emotion connected with the heart is sorrow. John 16:6 says, because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. Proverbs 25:20, describes sorrow as having an heavy heart. The heart is also the seat of the affection of love and its opposite, hate. In the Old Testament, for example, Israel is commanded: You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason with your neighbor, lest you bear sin because of him (Lev. 19:17 RSV). A similar attitude, bitter jealousy, is described in James 3:14 as coming from the heart. On the other hand, love is based in the heart. The believer is commanded to love God with all your heart (Mark 12:30; compare Deut. 6:5). Paul taught that the purpose of Gods command is love which comes from a pure heart (1 Tim. 1:5).
Finally, the heart is spoken of in Scripture as the center of the moral and spiritual life. The conscience, for instance, is associated with the heart. In fact, the Hebrew language had no word for conscience, so the word heart was often used to express this concept: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live (Job 27:6). The Revised Standard Version translates the word for heart as conscience in 1 Samuel 25:31 (RSV). In the New Testament the heart is spoken of also as that which condemns us (1 John 3:19_). All moral conditions from the highest to the lowest are said to center in the heart. Sometimes the heart is used to represent a persons true nature or character. Samson told Delilah all his heart (Judg. 16:17). This true nature is contrasted with the outward appearance: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart (1 Sam. 16:7 RSV).
On the negative side, depravity is said to issue from the heart: The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (Jer. 17:9). Jesus said that out of the heart comes evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander (Matt. 15:19). In other words, defilement comes from within rather than from without.
Because the heart is at the root of the problem, this is the place where God does His work in the individual. For instance, the work of the law is written in their hearts, and conscience is the proof of this (Rom. 2:15). The heart is the field where seed (the Word of God) is sown (Matt. 13:19; Luke 8:15). In addition to being the place where the natural laws of God are written, the heart is the place of renewal. Before Saul became king, God gave him a new heart (1 Sam. 10:9). God promised Israel that He would give them a new spirit within, take away their stony heart and give them a heart of flesh (Ezek. 11:19). Paul said that a person must believe in the heart to be saved, for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness (Rom. 10:10). (See also Mark 11:23; Heb. 3:12.) Finally, the heart is the dwelling place of God. Two persons of the Trinity are said to reside in the heart of the believer. God has given us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts (2 Cor. 1:22). Ephesians 3:17 expresses the desire that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith. The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us (Rom. 5:5).
According to the Bible, the heart is the center not only of spiritual activity, but of all the operations of human life. Heart and soul are often used interchangeably (Deut. 6:5; 26:16; compare Matt. 22:37; Mark 12:30, 33), but this is not generally the case. The heart is the home of the personal life, and hence a man is designated, according to his heart, wise (1 Kings 3:12, etc.), pure (Ps. 24:4; Matt. 5:8, etc.), upright and righteous (Gen. 20:5, 6; Ps. 11:2; 78:72), pious and good (Luke 8:15), etc. In these and such passages the word soul could not be substituted for heart. The heart is also the seat of the conscience (Rom. 2:15). It is naturally wicked (Gen. 8:21), and hence it contaminates the whole life and character (Matt. 12:34; 15:18; compare Eccl. 8:11; Ps. 73:7). Hence the heart must be changed, regenerated (Ezek. 36:26; 11:19; Ps. 51:10_), before a man can willingly obey God. The process of salvation begins in the heart by the believing reception of the testimony of God, while the rejection of that testimony hardens the heart (Ps. 95:8; Prov. 28:14; 2 Chr. 36:13). Hardness of heart evidences itself by light views of sin; partial acknowledgment and confession of it; pride and conceit; ingratitude; unconcern about the word and ordinances of God; inattention to divine providences; stifling convictions of conscience; shunning reproof; presumption, and general ignorance of divine things.
The word "heart/hearts" is used 531 times (391 times in the Old Testament and 140 times in the New Testament). It is used 12 times to mean "middle" and 12 time to mean the "human organ" (1 time in the New Testament). The word is mentioned in 42 books:
Genesis 1
Exodus 17
Leviticus 2
Deuteronomy 23
Joshua 7
Judges 2
1 Samuel 8
2 Samuel 3
1 Kings 10
2 Kings 4
1 Chronicles 5
2 Chronicles 17
Ezra 2
Nehemiah 2
Job 17
Psalms 94
Proverbs 53
Ecclesiastes 5
Song of Solomon 4
Isaiah 23
Jeremiah 35
Lamentations 10
Ezekiel 28
Daniel 2
Hosea 5
Jonah 3
Zephaniah 2
Zechariah 4
Malachi 3
Matthew 19
Mark 9
Luke 12
John 5
Acts 14
Romans 17
1 Corinthians 1
2 Corinthians 10
Galatians 1
Ephesians 8
Philippians 5
Colossians 5
1 Tessalonians 3
2 Tessalonians 1
1 Timothy 2
2 Timothy 2
Titus 1
Philemon 2
Hebrews 9
James 4
1 Peter 2
2 Peter 1
1 John 6
2 John 1