The Heart is a Wrestling Place

The heart is where we fight internal battles as we try to make sense of life.

For example, Jesus knew the teachers of the law were struggling inside with the fact that he forgave the paralytic. In Matthew 9:4 he said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts?" Mary was intrigued by all the events of Jesus' birth, and the Bible says in Luke 2:19 that she pondered all these things in her heart. When the two disciples on the road to Emmaus realized their surprise guest was Jesus, they reflected on the experience by saying, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?" (Luke 24:32)

When experience, teaching, and values need to be integrated into our lives, it happens in the workshop of our hearts. Information comes into our heads constantly, but much of it just stays there. Only what moves into our hearts becomes part of our lives.

When eight yeart old Jordan tells himself, "I'm no good. No one wants to be with me. I'll never get it right," he's filling his heart with negative images of himself. Rebecca feels good in her heart because she refused to join those who were disrespectful to their teacher. Jack's mom can see a heart problem because he scrowls and complains whenever she asks him to do something. In their hearts, children wrestle with and come to conclusions about life and its challenges.

This deeper part of a person's life is often a mystery, leaving parents confused about how to effect any significant change in their children. Recognizing that the heart is a wrestling place gives parents the motivation to relate to their children on a deeper level.