THE GREAT HEART OF GOD

THE GREAT HEART OF GOD

When people feel lonely and unsure of themselves, it is often because they do not believe deeply enough that God fully understands them. Paul writes that if we love fully, we will understand as we are fully understood. John’s words are very important, too: God loved us before we were ever able to love him. This is what must enter our small hearts, and what we must hold on to: the love of the Great Heart, which understands us fully.  J. Heinrich Arnold

I love the image of God as the Great Heart.  Jesus actually revealed the heart of God in the story of the Prodigal son.  The father in that story stands in for God as he paces back and forth day after day, watching the road for the sight of his son returning home.  When that day finally comes, he abandons all dignity and runs to hold his lost child in his arms. He embraces him, forgiving everything. 

The elder son, however, was blinded by jealously and could not see the greatness of his father’s love encompassing them both without favoritism. Sadly, many people side with the elder brother.  They, like him, fail to understand that the compassion and love of God encompasses everyone. There is complete understanding of each of us and as St. Paul tells, nothing can separate us from the love of God, not even ourselves.

In 1942 I was six years old. I woke one morning and it as very dark and the house was very quiet. My parent’s room was empty. I crept down the stairs, but the living room was dark, too.  Even though I thought I heard a noise from the kitchen, I was afraid, so I sat on the top step and waited.  All of a sudden a light went on and my uncle John came into the room with a towel over his trousers for an apron and a spatula in his hand. “Good Mornin’, Carol Ann.” He said.  “Mommy and Daddy went to the hospital to get the baby, and I’m making a stupendous breakfast just for you!”   The relief I felt was huge and the sense of absolute safety this uncle of mine provided has lived in my memory all these years. He was a person with a big heart. There are many of them in the world, and they, unbeknownst to themselves, reveal the Great Heart of God, because all good comes from there.  

This is how we should image God.  Even with all the testimony of Jesus, for many people, God still remains an angry, judgmental figure, waiting to pounce when we fail.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  God has spoken words of comfort and assurance from the beginning, but has been drowned out by the insistence of the human race to fashion a God who reflects them. It is time for us to put an end to this and to reflect the Great Heart of God for all to see. 

Blessings,

Carol Lemelin, OPA