I Hope That the New Year Will Be Met with Jesus Often through the Heart

The Blind Man and the Crippled Man Who Fell in the Mud

A long time ago, there was a man who could not see. One time, as he was feeling his way with his cane, he fell into the mud after unfortunately losing his way.

“I need to get out of here but what should I do?”

He would stumble here and there . . . but since he could not see he could not free himself from the mud even after two hours. The blind man resented his present situation. Then at that moment, he sensed someone’s presence. The blind man yelled in the direction of the sound.

“Excuse me, I don’t know who you are but I am a blind man. Can you please guide me to dry land.”

“Oh, no! I am a crippled man so I cannot walk. I have been here for a while waiting for a passerby to help me. I am sorry, but I cannot help you.”

The blind man was in joy after hearing a human’s voice but fell into disappointment soon after. Then, an idea popped into his head.

“I cannot see, but I have sturdy legs. You cannot walk but can see, so get on my back and tell me the way. Then we can free ourselves from here. Don’t you think so?”

“But how can you carry me on your back?”

“It is not a problem. There is no need to worry since I have sturdy legs; you can ride on my back and tell me the way.”

Thus, the story ends with them coming out from the mud using the blind man’s legs and the crippled man’s eyes.

The Body and Heart of a Person

Human beings have a body and a heart. The body has eyes and it needs to eat. When it wants to go somewhere far away, it has to ride in a car or an airplane. Also, the body can get hurt in an accident or get sick. However, it is different with the heart. Even without a car, the heart can go to a far away friend or anywhere it wants to go. Though the body has the strength to move, it cannot see ahead as to what is the best way to do something. During those times, if it receives the help of the heart which can see and go ahead to any place, then the body can manage well.

People know very well about the body which they can see, but they do not know about the heart. However, if we know about the world of the heart, then the body can receive help from the heart and become free from difficulties whenever it needs to. It is easy to meet Jesus if we come to know the world of the heart and learn how to use it. Jesus can only be met by the heart and not by sight, touch, or the body.

To the Father’s House Following the Heart

The second son in Luke chapter 15, left his father’s house and went to a far country where he wasted all his fortune. He ended up working in a pig pen feeding the pigs because he had no place else to go. He was so hungry that he even tried to eat the husks that the pigs ate but they were inedible.

Then, one day the second son thought to himself.

“How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare and I perish with hunger here.”

The “here” that the second son spoke of was the pig pen. The body of the second son was in the pig pen, but his heart took a visit to his father’s house. When he arrived home, his father was there, as was plentiful food. As the second son gazed upon the house, he thought, “Ah, my father’s house is so great but why am I in this pig pen?” He decided that his body needed to follow his heart, so he got up and headed back to his father’s house.

The moment the second son reached the outskirts of the village, the father came running and embraced him. Then, the second son spoke to the father.

“Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before you, and am no more worthy to be called your son.”

However, the father who was in great joy over his son’s return said to the servants, “Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet：and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry.”

The second son, who followed his heart to his father’s house, received the father’s love and lived a happy and blessed life.

Hoping You Meet with Jesus Often through the Heart

Everyone faces difficulties. When we are put into difficult circumstances, then the heart will also fall into that hardship. But if you know how to use the heart, the circumstances will not trouble you, no matter how difficult they are. Although the great servants of God such as Abraham, David, and Moses came across difficulties, they were able to live a blessed life because they met God in their hearts and received strength. I believe that you all have difficult circumstances in your lives. In those times, do not let your heart ponder in that difficulty; go up to Jesus, ask for His guidance and seek for Him. Just as the second son’s heart had already gone to his father’s house and ended up blessed while his body was in the dark pig pen, if your heart seeks Jesus and borrows His strength, you can become free from hardship, cure your disease, and live a blessed life.

I hope that everyone will learn how to use the heart in the new year of 2016. Do not just do what the body wants such as eating, playing, and fooling around. Instead, read the Bible and learn about the world of the heart. Just as one studies with their mind, plays the piano with their fingers, and exercises with their arms and legs, learn about the world of the heart and how to use the heart. Then, you can meet Jesus through the heart when you are in difficulty and receive help. Thus, when you meet Jesus in times of sadness, you can receive joy and hope.