College Essay: In Search of God's Heart

I guess if I'm going to start I might as well start here. My assignment was to write an essay on how my view of death would change if I knew God's heart. My paper receieved a grade of 100 so I would like to share it. It is a long read, so grab a cup of coffee and I hope it is enjoyable!



In Search of God’s Heart



Treasure hunters have spent a lifetime in search of the one treasure that will make them rich. Often times their quest took them on long voyages away from their homes and families. A great amount of preparation was needed for such an expedition because it took days, months, or even years to complete such a task. They fearlessly trudged forward, for they knew the depths the treasure could fulfill when found. The Bible says “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). But how awesome is it that God’s heart is the treasure! God has shown numerous times the true content of his heart. “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end” (Ecclesiastes, 3:11). Once the value of such a heart is truly grasped, only then can we realize that death isn’t an expedition gone empty, but rather the treasure found!

Jesus is real and I believe in him. But is that enough? Sure, it will get me into Heaven but God is worth so much more than just my belief. The message “Heart of God” gives a new perspective on how deep God’s love is for us. For instance, as Christians we know that God gave us the sunlight, the ocean, the fall breezes, etcetera. But according to the message it is not just sunlight given, but how it shines through the trees or plays off of the sea. The water is not just water, but how it sounds as it is babbling over the rocks in a brook, or crashing as waves on the shore. Is it not amazing that God made the day bright so we can work and the night dark so we can rest? He didn’t just create things to just be, but he gave beauty and a softness and tenderness to the creation. How much more meaningful the simplest of things become when the heart of God is recognized! What a treasure to be found with the greatest part of all; it isn’t even hidden. It is, or can be, within us when we accept him. But the content of His heart can be seen in many other ways as well.

A child’s heart is all comprehending. They love unconditionally. God knew that to have a heart of a child is how one comes to know him. Here are a couple of examples of how a child loves God. The first example is of when my daughter was three or four years of age. She was out flying a kite with her daddy one day, when she asked him to turn the front of the kite around so that Jesus could see it. Her heart was so soft for God that she wanted him to share in her joy of the kite. The second example is another story of that same young child. Every night before bed she and I go through the usual saying of “I love you” (her), “I love you more” (me), “I love you most of all” (her), “I love you up to the stars” (me), “I love you past that” (her). But one night she got very quiet after the usual exchange and then said “we are supposed to love God like that aren’t we”? A child’s heart doesn’t just ‘know’ God; it knows God intimately “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3).

Death as a topic doesn’t usually come up and when it does come up, people will usually run the other way. I remember when I was younger; the thought of dying scared me so much that I had to make myself quickly think of something else. My mind could not grasp ceasing to exist. Even after accepting Jesus as my savior, I was still reluctant to ponder death. If I knew that Jesus was real and in Heaven waiting for me, why then be afraid? It was because I was looking at life, not death, as the prize. Treasure hunters do not set out on a long journey until they know what treasure it is they are looking for, and in what general direction. We don’t have to blindly trudge forward. We can take the heart he gave us and use it to look at the sunlight and how it shines through a canopy of trees, or how it hits the water just right. With that heart, take a moment to look at how majestic the sea really is. Death means going to be with the Creator of all of the above plus that very heart! It is like a story I heard on the radio once about how a dog will follow his master anywhere. Even behind a door that holds the unknown will he go? Yes, and for no other reason than that his master is there with him. That is how Heaven should be for us. We may not know completely what all is there, but we can go willingly for no other reason than that our master is there waiting for us. Heaven, through God’s heart is revealed. And God’s heart is the treasure we seek.

We are more to God than just his creation. The message “Heart of God” stated that we are his children. Even more intimate than that, we are his friends/lovers (bride of Christ). As his children, he loved us so much that he sent us His own child. And even though we have failed at loving him back at that magnitude, he still was willing to save us from an eternal death “There is no greater love than this: that a person would lay down his life for the sake of his friends” (John 15:13). With this new perspective in hand, I want to live my life turning my kite around so God can see it, and loving him past to where the stars are. I want to live as if every breeze that blows across my face is the very breath of God blowing me a kiss. No longer will I be afraid of death because unlike most expeditions that end when the treasure is found, mine will just be continuing! For not even death can make God stop loving me “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).