Transforming Our Affections

Strong affections cannot be hidden.  Whatever desires are prominent in our hearts, either good or evil, they will be revealed by the effects they produce.  “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34).  If we have genuine and fervent longings for spiritual things, we will earnestly seek them and labor to get them.  To have strong desires for the things of God we must value them highly.  We cannot care deeply for something or someone if  have no knowledge of them.  The way to increase our affections for spiritual things is to increase our knowledge of them.  God has given us that knowledge in His word for that very purpose.  We are all acquainted with the passion people display over various things in the world.  If we valued spiritual things in proportion to their true value, our desire for those things would dwarf our desire for anything the world can offer us.  Growing as a Christian involves the gradual transformation of our passions—away from the world and toward Christ.