Hearts and Bowels

              We often find that there are some words that have two different meanings. You may have used the expressions, “I love you with all my heart.” I have said that and then there was the time that I went to the hospital in Pittusburgh, PA and the nurse said, “Oh, you are here for the cabbage.” I looked at her with a blank expression on my face as I didn't have a clue what she was talking about. She then said, “The Cardio arterial bypass graft”, the CABG. Pronounced, “Cabbage.” I then had some idea what she was saying. There is the physical heart and there is that organ which represents the seat of our emotions and is used as an expression of endearment to some other person. In my estimation, using the heart is okay as it us also displayed on jewelry as an item of affection and at Valentine's Day on all kinds of cards. In all of my years I have never seen a Valentine card with a “bowel.” on it. Different cultures have different ideas as to how to express their deepest emotions. Philippians 1;8 says, “For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.”

          While I never saw a card with a bowel on it, the organ was used as a representation of the deepest emotion in the culture of the time of the Apostle Paul. The word “bowels” us used some 37 times in the bible and in those references, it refers to the deep emotions that one has for someone else. We may well ask ourselves, “With whom do I long to be in their presence?” How excited are you when you are in the presence of a fellow believer? I have some who visit me and it is nice and welcomed yet it is not the same as when a believer in the faith comes and spends a moment with me. I can walk a round my neighborhood and speak to many of them but there is one at the end of our street whom I always enjoy and look forward to speaking with because he and his wife are believers in the faith. I often hope that he is outside doing some yard work so we can chat for a moment. Phone calls are good, but “video” calls are better. I personally like them, because I can see their faces. It is the next best thing to being physically present with them. Fellowship with other believers is important in the life of the disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. We get that yearning in our bodies that says we are longing to be in the presence of someone. We might refer to it as a yearning or a longing while the Apostle Paul would say that he longed for them in the bowels of Jesus Christ. We would say, “My heart yearns to see you.” Paul would say, “I long to see you in the bowels of Jesus Christ.” it is quite a different picture, but we get the idea. There is a level of excitement that exists in the life of the believer at the visit of a fellow believer, which raises a great expectation at their presence and it doesn't make any difference what we call it. You can be that person which raises the level of expectation with your visit to them so that their heart years to see them and to be in their presence even for a short time. Sending a gift is important, but bringing the gift yourself is even more important and is perhaps in some cases even more important than the gift itself. Praise God today that He sent His Son to live and to die, to be buried and to rise again. Now, our hearts yearn to be in His presence for all eternity.