Proverbs 7:3. bind [my teachings] on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.
Earlier in my life, when I was told something that I didn’t want to forget, I would often write it on the palm of my hand in marker. That way every time I look at my hand I am reminded of the thing I don’t want to forget. These days I tend to use my calendar app on my phone. Some people have tied strings to their fingers so as not to forget something important. What about you? What do you do when you don’t want to forget something?
Solomon is telling his children to remember God’s teachings – bind them on your fingers.
More importantly than tying a string to our fingers, we must write God’s teachings on our hearts. This theme has already been discussed several times in the book. God wants our hearts. He wants our loves and our affections. He doesn’t just want us to obey him with our hands (our fingers), but he wants us to also want to obey him from the heart.
And that is exactly what God gets from us in Christ. Obedience from the heart.
Romans 6:17. But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed,
You see, no one can write God’s commands on their own heart. This work requires the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit within us. He changes our loves and affections. He has written the New Covenant on our hearts. He has allowed us to see that the teachings of God are the person of Christ. Christ, who now lives in us, and obeys God’s commands through us.
Knowing that we don’t have to change our own hearts is the best news. God is changing our hearts for us by the love of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. This is not optional. It is inevitable. Christian, you ARE being changed. Your desires have been overwhelmed by his grace. Your new heart is in there. You just have to dig a bit deeper to find it. And each time you do, you’ll find the joy that comes in submission to Christ’s heart as your own.
You: How do you remember what is important to you?
You in Christ: How does knowing that you have a new heart, the heart of Christ, allow you to find the courage to submit to God today?
Christ in you: How might you go deeper into your affections and desires today in order to find the heart of Christ in you?
Pray: Father, your love is written on my heart, your teachings are engraved in me. Cause me to trust the heart of Christ as my own. Amen.
To Live is Christ 