“You are what you love.” Or so claims Christian philosopher James K.A. Smith (in his book by that title).
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 Descartes), 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.
{tweetme}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?{/tweetme} 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 students Christian Union ministers to! Pray that we would grow in our love for Christ.
Justin Woyak
Christian Union Ministry Fellow
Justin grew up in Pensacola, Florida, where he came to know Christ at age eleven. In 2009, he graduated from Princeton magna cum laude with a degree in Classics. While at Princeton he served as Christian Union's student president and then as a ministry intern for a year. In 2014, he earned a masters of divinity from Bethlehem College & Seminary in Minneapolis, where he also taught college students as an instructor in Bible and theology until 2016.Before serving as a Christian Union ministry fellow, Justin was the digital content editor for Christian Union Day and Night. He is blessed with a wonderful wife, Kate, and their two young daughters, Keira and Joy. Justin enjoys tennis and golf, J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, Settlers of Catan, good food and root beer, time with friends and family—and seeking God!
