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From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Dear Rev. Graham: I’ve been told that the Bible has a lot to say about the heart and that it is wicked and evil. This is disturbing, and if true, why is this? – W.E.

Dear W.E.: The Bible speaks very specifically about the human heart. It devises wicked imaginations (see Proverbs 6:18), is “deceitful above all things” (Jeremiah 17:9, NKJV), is far from God (see Matthew 15:8), and is foolish and darkened (see Romans 1:21). This is a sad state, for the heart is the seat of emotion and the seat of belief. It symbolizes the center of life.

But God has not left the human heart in this state. He devised a way to make Himself known. He came to get at the very heart of man’s disease – sin. This was the sole purpose in Jesus coming to Earth, to save us from sin that can destroy us.

When we seek the Lord and turn from sin, He comes into every facet of life and transforms our thinking, our speaking, our deeds, our relationships, and our desires. He replaces our fears with faith and trust in Him. He changes our hate into love. He makes our hearts new.

It is God who evaluates the state of our hearts. The Bible says, “I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind” (Jeremiah 17:10, NKJV). He is the One who ponders our hearts (see Proverbs 21:2). He also weighs our hearts, and we come up short (see Romans 3:23). But the heart of Jesus, full of compassion and love, bled on the cross for our sinful hearts. His pure and perfect heart made a way for us to have clean hearts before Him. This is the Gospel, and when His Word is proclaimed, He takes that message and drives it supernaturally into the human heart.

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(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)