A Heart Two Sizes Too Small

As Christmas begins to fade into the background and Valentine's day enters our view, I can't help but to think about our hearts. Both Christmas and Valentine's are to be days full of love. The question is, do you have room in your heart for love?

Dr. Seuss's The Grinch is a staple in children's literature. This ugly green scrooge hates everyone and everything except his faithful dog, Max. His hate stems from his dysfunctional heart that is "two sizes too small," and consequently he is simply unable to let any love inside. The Grinch is a humorous and whimsical character, so it's easy to laugh at Seuss's over-the-top description. However, we have all let our "inner Grinch" out of hiding, and when we see glimpses of this character in ourselves, it's not so funny.

Jonah is a great example of a heart in need of expansion. However, the story we know best is the miracle of the great fish, Jonah's three day residence in the great fish, and his surviving to tell about it. What is not often spoken about is that Jonah was a prophet of Israel who was asked by God to go preach about repentance to his most hated enemy, the Ninevites. In those days, they were the most cruel people on the earth.

Finally, after Jonah's great fish experience, Jonah takes a 3-day walk through the city of Nineveh proclaiming that in 40 days Nineveh would be destroyed. Jonah was enjoying his message “God is going to destroy you” and when done he went and sat on a hill to watch the destruction. But to his disappointment the people of Nineveh begin to believe in God, even the King created a decree that all turn from their evil ways. The king says “Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?” That’s a great question and one that without Jesus Christ we would all be asking.

But God saw their hearts…Jonah 3:10 (NKJ) “Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it. What a great achievement! What success! Jonah has a story with a happy ending. The Ninevites confess their sins, God is merciful and everyone is saved. But Jonah is not celebrating, he is sitting on a hill over looking the city angry with God for saving the Ninevites. God's response, "Jonah is it right for you to be angry?" Jonah's heart condition is exposed.

But his story isn't over, it's just getting more comical (this is highly condensed, so I encourage you to read the book of Jonah). Jonah travels to the eastern part of the city in order to make a shelter and escape the heat. He wants to see what God's next move is. This is so a heart condition, a heart that is too small. Jonah cares only about himself. His heart has no room for anyone else. But God was not done humbling and teaching Jonah. God has another vital spiritual lesson.

Jonah 4:6-9 (NKJ) 6 And the Lord God prepared a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be shade for his head to deliver him from his misery. So Jonah was very grateful for the plant. 7 But as morning dawned the next day God prepared a worm, and it so damaged the plant that it withered. 8 And it happened, when the sun arose, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat on Jonah’s head, so that he grew faint. Then he wished death for himself, and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” 9 Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” And he (Jonah) said, “It is right for me to be angry, even to death!” Jonah’s heart condition is exposed once again. He has become a very embittered man who has lost sight of what really matters. Let's continue with God's response.

Jonah 4:10-11 (NKJ) 10 But the Lord said, “You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night. 11 And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?”

What a beautiful picture of God’s heart. A heart that is twice as big as ours. God, because of His great love for us, waits patiently for us to return to him. Only God can expand our small, fragile hearts. He has given us his grace through his son, Jesus and because He first loved us, our heart's capacity grows so we can love God and others, even our enemies. Allow me to leave you with one last scripture of God's promise to us to fix our hearts. Do you need a spiritual heart surgery?

Ezekiel 36:26 (NKJ) I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.