Proverbs 27:19. As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man.
Do you remember the movie The Lion King? There’s a scene in the movie where Simba the lion is taken to a stream of water by Rafiki the baboon. Rafiki told Simba that he was going to show him Mufasa, his father, who has sadly died earlier in the movie. When Simba gets to the stream he looks down into the water and is disappointed to see only his own reflection. But then the reflection changes and he sees his father, Mufasa.
Then Rafiki says to Simba, “He lives in you.”
That scene in The Lion King is saying something very similar to today’s proverb. The water reflected Simba’s face, but what Rafiki really wanted him to see was his own heart, the heart of Mufasa that was inside of him.
Remember, when the Hebrew scripture talks about your heart, it’s talking about that deepest part of you, your deepest desires, thoughts, and feelings, that control what you do. Rafiki, the wise, wanted Simba to look that deep inside of himself. He wanted him to look past all of his fears, his guilt, and his sadness to the heart of Mufasa the king.
Being a Christian is a lot like being Simba in that cartoon. When we receive Christ by faith, he comes to dwell in our hearts, planting his life and love deep into our inner being. In fact, the New Covenant promise is that we are given a brand new heart. A new heart with all of Jesus’ own desires, thoughts, and affections. Just like Simba had Mufasa in him, we have Christ in us. That’s why the proverb can say that the heart reflects the man. Our heart reflects who we truly are. Or should I say, WHOSE we truly are.
Does your heart reflect the indwelling Christ? Is your heart the image and likeness of Christ’s heart? Do you love what he loves? Do you think how he thinks? Do you choose what he would choose? Do you speak his words and do his deeds?
If Christ is in you then you can. Christian, you are one spirit with Christ. You share his heart. His pure heart. The Christian life is not about becoming pure of heart over and over again, like Old Testament priests washing daily at the Tabernacle’s bronze laver. It is about considering your purity of heart to be a reality, and then choosing to live and love from that pure heart.
1 Peter 1:22. Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,
1 Timothy 1:5. The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
Christ in you IS the pure heart. Like water reflects the face, the new heart in you reflects THE Man in you – the man Christ Jesus. He lives in you, Simba. And because Christ lives in you, deeper than your fear is his courage. Deeper than your sadness is his joy. Deeper than any guilt is his forgiveness and cleansing from sin.
Sometimes like Simba we need a Rafiki to show us the heart of Jesus that lives inside of us. Sometimes we have to keep looking until we see it.
You: Does your heart reflect Christ in you?
You in Christ: You have a new heart. How does knowing this allow you to imagine yourself reflecting the life and love of Christ?
Christ in you: Where can you see your choices, feelings, and thoughts reflecting Christ lately?
Pray: Jesus, thank you for giving me your very own heart. Help me to trust it more each day. Amen.
To Live is Christ 