A full heart and a ready tongue

Jesus said, “For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of…” Matthew 12:34

Peter and John replied… “As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard”. Acts 4:20

In your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have… 1 Peter 3:15

When we have the chance of a good old natter we all like to talk about the things that are most important to us.

If my wife is on the phone to her brother, I know it’s only a matter of time before they’re banging on about Liverpool FC (yawn!). For you, it might be a favourite television programme, or your passion for gardening, or who you met while out dog-walking this morning, or a book you’re reading. I have a friend who loves to enthuse about the symphonies of Gustav Mahler (yes, really).

This is the way we are. So when Jesus says that “the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” he’s just stating a fact of life, nothing very profound or original. But he says it in the context of a tense discussion with a group of Pharisees who are questioning where he gets his power from – not from God, they say, but from the devil.

He tells them that they are completely blind spiritually; they have not a scrap of understanding of the truth about himself; changing the image, they are like diseased trees that are bound to produce bad fruit, or like snakes which bite and spread poison. The implication is clear: because they are full of lies and ignorance, when they teach the people, all they have to offer is deception and falseness.

Jesus doesn’t mince his words! – a warning, perhaps, to any of us who are tasked with the responsibility of teaching others, whether in a “religious” context or any other. Our words will strike home; they might even change lives; so let’s make sure they can do only good and not harm.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with enthusing about your football team, or some hobby you have, or even about Gustav Mahler’s music (as long as we are always aware of the danger of boring the other person senseless). But Jesus’ saying has an application at a much deeper level, and it’s beautifully illustrated by the apostles Peter and John in Acts 3 and 4…

The apostles have been used by God to heal a lame beggar, and this stirs up great excitement. A crowd gathers, and Peter explains that the miracle has been done in the name of Jesus, “who you handed over to be killed” (ouch!). The Jewish religious authorities don’t like the sound of this! So they put Peter and John in prison overnight, hoping that will cool them off a bit.

But no. The next day the apostles are as bold and confident as ever, and the authorities realise that while you can always trade words and arguments with people you want to silence, it’s a different matter when there’s a man who’s been miraculously healed standing right there in front of everyone’s noses. Try arguing with that!

So what do they do? Answer: they “command them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus” (Acts 4:18). And this is where Peter and John give that fresh application of Jesus’ words about the overflowing heart: “We can’t help speaking about what we have seen and heard”. As if to say: Sorry, but you’re wasting your time! You might as well command the sun to stop shining or a river to stop flowing. How can we possibly be silent after all that we’ve seen concerning Jesus!

How indeed?

Thinking along these lines can take us in two different directions, one bad, one good.

Bad: we can collapse into feelings of guilt. When did I last speak about Jesus? Why do I find it so hard? Oh dear, I must be a really useless Christian! We “beat ourselves up”.

I say that’s bad simply because we live in a world where witnessing for Christ is much less natural than it was for the first apostles. Yes, we should always be ready to speak up when the opportunity arises, but we need to be sensitive to the setting in which we happen to be – never forget 1 Peter 3:15-16…!

Good: we can take it as a challenge about our enthusiasm as Christians. Even if it genuinely isn’t appropriate to talk about our faith in a given situation, does Jesus matter enough to us to make us want to? Going to that 1 Peter passage, do we truly “revere Christ in our hearts as Lord”? For only then will we be “prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks us”.

We twenty-first century Christians haven’t had the kind of dramatic experience the first followers of Jesus had. That’s just the way it is. But we have had our lives changed by him! We have entered into eternal life; we have received the forgiveness of our sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. And those facts should still delight and excite us. Part of our daily responsibility is to keep that faith that has shaped our whole lives fresh and “new every morning”.

If, thinking about these things, we find ourselves stone cold in heart… well, perhaps there is a need for a bit of serious self-examination: for all is not well.

Loving Lord God, in your Son Jesus you have done wonderful and life-changing things. Thank you for the momentous day when I first put my trust in him. Please help me, by your Holy Spirit, to keep that trust fresh and new, so that I am always ready to share it when the opportunity is given. Amen.