I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts- Jer.
31:33. I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their
hearts-Heb. 8:10.
It seems to me that the two clauses in each of these passages are not
precisely parallel, but parallel with a difference. I take it that “mind”
here means very much what we make it mean in our popular phraseology-a king
of synonym for the understanding, or the intellectual part of a man’s
nature; and that “heart,” on the other hand, means something a little wider
than it does in our popular phraseology, and indicates not only the
affections, but the center of personality in the human will as well as the
seat of love. So these two clauses will mean, you see, if we carry that
distinction with us, two things-the clear perception of the will of God and
the coincidence of that will with our inclinations and desires. In men’s
natural consciences there is the law written on their minds; but, wait! We
all know that there is an awful chasm between perception and inclination,
and that it is one thing to know our duty and quite another to wish to do
it. So the heart of this great promise is that these two things shall
coincide in a Christian man, shall cover precisely the same ground, as two
of Euclid’s triangles, with the same angles, will, if laid upon each other,
coincide line for line and angle for angle. Thus it is possible-and, if we
observe the conditions, it shall be actual in us-that knowledge and will
shall cover absolutely and exactly the same ground. Inclination shall be
duty and duty shall be inclination and delight. And how is that wonderful
change upon men to be accomplished? “I will put, I will write.” Only He can
do it. We all know, by our own experience, the schism that gapes between the
two things. Every man in the world knows a vast deal more of duty than any
man in the world does. The worst of us has a standard that rebukes his evil,
and the best of us has a standard that rebukes his evil, and the best of us
has a standard that transcends his goodness, and, often transcends his
inclination. But the Gospel of our Lord and Savior comes armed with
sufficient power to make this miracle an actuality for us all; for it comes
to substitute for all other motives to obedience the one motive of love.
They but half understand the Gospel who dwell upon its sanctions of reward
and punishment, and would seek to frighten men into goodness; and they
misinterpret it almost as much who find the chief motive for Christian
obedience in the glories of the heavenly state. The Gospel appeals to men,
not merely nor chiefly on the ground of self-interest, but it comes to them
with one appeal, “If ye love Me, keep My commandments” [John 14:15]. That is
how the law is written on the heart. Wherever there is love, there is a
supreme delight in divining and in satisfying the wish and will of the
Beloved. His lightest word is law to the loving heart; His looks are spells
and commandments. And if it is so in regard of our poor, imperfect human
loves, how infinitely more so is it where the heart is touched by true
affection for His own infinite love’s sake, of that “Jesus” who is “most
desired”! The secret of Christian morality is that duty is changed into
choice, because love is made the motive for obedience.
In Celebration of Life in Him,
Dr. Jim DeBruhl, gembeaux@bellsouth.net
