And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
We have been talking about this new heart and His abiding presence so it has come to me that the heart has a health indicator, its pulse. If we do not have a pulse, well, then, something is wrong, deadly wrong.
The English language is so flexible and we use it or abuse it to express images and impressions that go beyond original meanings, Used as a root word pulse can imply mental behaviors that goes beyond the intentions of the heart.
Impulse is one example. When one is impulsive we think of that person as not giving much thought to the consequences of their desires. They want and often obtain things on a whim.
Compulse is thought of differently, compulsive people are driven often by ideals, goals, the very thought of achieving a goal aligns every thought and action in support of achieving the goal.
If we are impulsive we might see ourselves as living for the moment, enjoying life to its fullest while we can. It is only when the consequences of our actions produce detrimental effects that we find ourselves regretting our choices. We learn lessons the hard way.
Compulsive people give little to no thought of deterrents, they are only roadblocks to be overcome, challenges to be met or pushed aside. What happens to others as a result of their actions are often discarded as easily as taking out the trash. Once gone, they do not even think about it.
So what does all that have to do with this new heart?
Once we give our hearts over to Jesus, what we care about becomes what He cares about.
What does Jesus ask of us? Do we know? Maybe in general terms like love one another. But this new heart has a pulse that is neither impulsive or compulsive. It is a matter of taking His pulse.