Jeremiah 17:9: The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?
What is 2 + 2? This isn’t a trick question – the answer is 4. It’s a simple truth – you can look at your hand and add up your fingers to prove it’s true. There’s nothing to question. Now – what’s the message of the Bible? – God loves you. The truth that God’s love you is no less factual and certain than 2 + 2 equaling 4. Yet, why does it take 66 books and over 31,000 (NKJV) verses to communicate as certain a truth as God loving you as 2 + 2 = 4?
The difference is where the truth resides. Our minds have no problem contemplating 2 + 2 = 4. This is a computation that is easily verifiable – there’s nothing or no one to question the truth. Our hearts, however, are also places of truth, but they are, sadly, places of deceits – or false information. The challenge each of us faces is how do we get our hearts to know what is really true? There are those who challenge the notion that there is ultimate truth – they think everything is relative. If this is the case, then humanity, by definition, will be at odds with each other as one person’s concept of truth may not be another person’s understanding of truth. This is especially true when it comes to the existence of God and, if God exists, Who is He?
From the moment we are born, we are in need. A baby cries when it is hungry because it is unable to feed itself. A baby cries when he is lonely because she needs to be held. A baby cries when it doesn’t feel well because he is incapable of healing himself. As we get older we become more self-sufficient, but we become no less needy. The issue each of us must deal with is how those needs are met. The core need of every human is to be loved. Those who challenge this statement are likely ones who have not had good experiences with love – be it parental, sibling, friend, or spouse. Therefore, since their idea of love is tainted, they discount the need for it.
If we are designed to be loved, then there must be a core love that we all need. This doesn’t mean, though, that the love we need is robotic – each of us is different, so the love each of us needs must be customized to who we each are. Therefore, if we are designed to be loved uniquely, doesn’t it make sense that we should find the love each of us needs with the One Who designed us? The message of the Bible is God loves you. The Bible also says God is love (1 John 4:8) and God is perfect (Psalm 18:30). God is the only source of perfect love – His qualities and character are the embodiment of the foundation of love we all need.
Since He is our Designer, He not only offers the foundation of the love we need, but He also offers the customized love we need – the love that is unique to our special requirements. So if all of this is true, why do we need a 66 book, 31,000+ verse Bible to tell us this? Today’s verse is the answer. Because we live in a fallen world that is filled with lies, our hearts have been formed, to various degrees, in lies. This is especially true when it comes to understanding what love should look like. We each have a disconnect between what true love should be and what we’ve experienced.
That is one of the main reasons the Bible is so long – it is a presentation of a God Who truly loves His creation – Who truly loves you. The Bible is the explanation of what God’s true love looks like. This is why the Cross is the centerpiece to the all of Scripture. It is the ultimate statement of God’s love for you – He sacrifices Himself to save you from the eternal penalty of the fruit of the lies of your heart – sin. By doing this, He makes a way for you to begin the process of coming to know your most basic need – love from your Creator. God’s love for you is no less true than 2 + 2 equaling 4. Will you allow your heart to come to know this truth? It’s what it needs.