What is a United Heart?

A basic premise of Christianity is that we are fractured. Our hearts are broken. On the one hand is the image of God, which is what we are created to be. On the other is the enemy of God, which is what our selfishness has made us. Both make up human nature, but both are at odds with each other.

Our search for wholeness comes down to asking God to reconcile these parts to Himself. That is what David asks for in Psalm 86:11. He knows there is a divide in his heart, and he wants the Lord to mend the broken pieces. In Psalm 86:2, David calls himself “holy,” but he does not mean he has never made a mistake. Rather, he means that he belongs to God. That is what it is to be holy, and that is what it is to be whole.

The same message appears and is perfected in the New Testament. The only way now to achieve a united heart is to accept the work of Jesus Christ that David only knew as a far-off promise. When we do, we know we are “complete in Him” (Colossians 2:10).

I often wish this completeness occurred all at once. It doesn’t, sadly. Paul speaks about it as if it were already done, because as far as God is concerned, it is. When you become a Christian, you receive a new life that has a guarantee of wholeness. But the old man is still there. Mistakes are still made. The heart has cracks. The difference, though, is that they are closing. Every day, as we draw closer to the Lord, we find unity. We begin to see redemption, as every part is put to better use. A process of healing is occurring, though it takes time.

This message is a source of hope. Every human being feels this tension between what they want to do and what they know they should do. We are all broken. We need someone to heal us. Christians owe it to the world to tell them healing is available. It is a process, and one that is not completed in life, but we know we will be saved and our hearts will be complete. Everyone is concerned about their faults, and they should be. But they can be washed clean and helped to start living a better life that grows freer and freer from the brokenness of sin. That is what Christians do. And it is what we need to share. 

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