Three Hearts?!

So, what’s on my mind?

This past weekend was Valentine’s Day. Cards were exchanged. Chocolate was consumed. Some of you went out to eat. Some of you wisely stayed home and avoided the crowds. And all of us were reminded—whether we wanted to be or not—that February is the month of hearts.

Speaking of hearts, an odd little fact I recently learned was that an octopus has three hearts. Three! Two of them pump blood to the gills, and one pumps blood to the rest of the body. Even stranger—when an octopus swims, the heart that pumps blood to the body actually stops beating. Swimming is so exhausting that its system can’t keep up. That’s one reason octopuses…octopi…octo…whatever prefer crawling along the ocean floor instead of constantly swimming.

Now I don’t know about you, but I can barely manage one heart. Three seems excessive. But here’s what struck me: sometimes I live like I have three hearts—and all of them are tired. We rush from one thing to another. Work. School. Ballgames. Church activities. Responsibilities. We keep “swimming,” and before long, something in us feels like it has stopped beating. We’re physically present, but spiritually exhausted. We’re busy, but not necessarily abiding.

Jesus says in John 15:5, “Abide in me.” Not sprint for me. Not exhaust yourself for me. Abide. On Valentine’s Day we talk a lot about love. Romantic love. Family love. Chocolate love. But Scripture reminds us that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart. Not a divided heart. Not a worn-out heart. Not a heart that only beats when everything else slows down.

The good news is this: unlike the octopus, we were not designed to shut down when we move. We were designed to stay connected to the One who gives life in the first place. As Acts 17:28 puts it, “In Him we live and move and have our being.”

If your heart feels a little tired lately, maybe the answer isn’t to swim harder. Maybe it’s to rest deeper. To crawl a little closer to Jesus. To spend time in prayer. To worship not out of obligation, but out of love. This February, may our one heart be fully His

May God hold you,
Rev Chris Hester