“You are what you love.” Or so claims Christian philosopher James K. A. Smith (in his book by that title), which we recently considered together as a community.
I don’t mean you are the things that you love, but you are the sum of your loves—your actions of loving and desiring. You are not primarily a “thinking thing” (a res cogitans, in the language of Decartes), but a loving and desiring thing. Our thinking is no doubt crucial to who we are, but it is subservient to our loving. Our thoughts are means to the end of—and culminate in—our loving.
Thus our heart (and not our head, or mind) is the core of who we are. If we can know the heart of another (or ourselves, for that matter), we can know who they really are.
And so Jesus says,
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:19–21 ESV).
That which you most earnestly desire and treasure defines who you are.
What treasures and desires define you? As you analyze the thoughts, actions, and longings of your life, day in and day out—which all flow from your heart—do you find that you are loving that which is truly valuable? Or are your greatest loves for lesser things? Are you storing up for yourself treasures on earth? Treasures that are directing your heart away from Jesus?
As Henry Scougal said, “The worth and excellency of a soul is to be measured by the object of its love.” May we be a people measured by the worth and excellency of the prime object of our love: the Lord Jesus Christ. As you have a few moments, please pray that for yourself, for those in your life, and for us and the Stanford students we minister to! Pray that we would grow in our love for Christ this spring quarter.
Grateful for your partnership in the gospel,
Justin Woyak
Ministry Fellow
Christian Union Caritas
2431 Park Blvd
Palo Alto, CA 94306
Please note: if you would like to receive regular updates on how to pray for Christian Union's work, please email prayer@christianunion.org.
