Matters of the Heart

Tintern Abbey was built in 1131 AD. During England's Henry VIII’s reign, he abolished the monasteries, leaving Tintern in ruins. Tintern is now a tourist attraction. The Abbey is without its roof or interior. However, its foundations and cathedral structure still stand where natural sunlight shines amongst the arch windows and columns, beautifully spraying prisms of light.

In the 1920s, as an atheist, CS Lewis finally intellectually arrived at a point where he was open to the Christian faith, but his heart was not there yet.

Lewis visited Tintern Abbey, and while he was standing under its arches, the sunlight shone through the arches onto the beautiful landscaped green grass. Then, suddenly, an inexpressible joy surged into his heart. Lewis finally got it. His heart was finally enlightened, and He discovered the essence of all of creation in Jesus Christ. Lewis became a believer.

In Ephesians 1:18-19, Paul prays about this very enlightenment and wisdom of the heart and imagination Lewis experienced: I pray that your hearts (one translation ‘the imagination’) will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him.

To understand the divine realities in our life, we cannot rely on intellect alone but also on the heart's affections. God's revelation through the Holy Spirit provides believers a deep, spiritual knowledge and wisdom that is not gained solely through knowledge and intellect. This revealed spiritual wisdom and knowledge open our hearts to God's divine power, His works of grace, and the movements of the soul we inherit as believers in Jesus Christ. This power raised Christ from the dead, and He now sits on the right hand in the heavenly realms placing all of creation, including the Church, under Him. [verses. 20-23]

Why is this revealed spiritual insight important regarding the matter of our hearts?

The term 'Heart' has many uses in Scripture, but its essential meaning refers to the person's deepest core — the deepest organizing center of one's life and what you rely on and lean on. The heart is a fundamental yet sometimes hidden foundation at the deepest recesses and absolute center of a person from which springs forth genuine, real feelings, authentic thoughts, values, and taking on life. The heart is the most profound aspect of one's soul and inner self.1

In The Abolition of Man, CS Lewis famously termed "Men Without Chests," meaning instead of ignoring the matters of the heart, we are to feel what is good and true with our hearts and apprehend it with our minds as logical and reasonable.

Our soul uses both our mind and our heart's deepest intuition. Thus Paul's timeless counsel that God’s peace will “guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” — Philippians 4:7

With our hearts anchored in this spiritual wisdom, power, and divine insight, we should not be dazzled by the human and material experiences, all temporary but the illuminated and eternal hope of the transcendent glory that awaits those who are believers in Jesus Christ. Where our heart possesses "a presence that disturbs me with the joy of elevated thoughts."2

-Dan Nickel

1 Paraphrase of JP Moreland’s thoughts in Finding Quiet

2 William Wordsworth’s poem “Lines Written a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey.” Wordsworth wrote the poem upon seeing Tintern Abby.