Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.
Ephesians 1:18 ESV
At the heart of the matter
This verse is an open invitation for the Lord pierce our heart with truth, not just give us knowledge to process with our mind, but with our heart. In The Abolition of Man, C. S. Lewis describes “The Chest-Magnanimity-Sentiment” which, functions as the liaison between the intellect and sentiment.[1] Being that it is the chest suggests that it is the “heart” of man. It is the element that guides the choices we make. It is the element that causes us to have internal conversations when faced with moral decisions. Lewis also refers to the middle element as “emotions organized by trained habit into stable sentiment.”[2]
It’s my choice
Choice is a key element in God’s interaction with us. In Mere Christianity, Lewis writes, “I would much rather say that every time you make a choice you’re turning a central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before… slowly turning this central thing either into a heavenly creature or into a hellish creature.”[3] Without an open and active heart, we risk enduring unbridled emotions that lead to chaotic choices or the cold and calculated choices of pure reason. When the eyes of our heart are open, we view our circumstances from a balanced perspective that intersects reason and passion and allows us to hear and see the truth God has for us, which allows us to make better choices.
[1]C.S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man, (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 1974), 25.
[2] Ibid.,25.
[3] C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1952), 86.
