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N the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not . . . . 14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-4, 14)
Before there can be a thought, a plan, or an action, there must be a word that combines with others to form those thoughts, plans, or dreams. We think by means of words that form thoughts. Before a building can be constructed, there must be plans developed by the architect to satisfy the result conceived by the planner. Those plans are formed by words, then thoughts, then the hand of the draftsman to place those thoughts onto paper. That is one of the fallacies of the ‘theory’ of evolution – nothing of good order develops from disorder. According to our friend’s, Webster’s definition, entropy exists in every bit of matter in the universe: entropy is the degradation of the matter and energy in the universe to an ultimate state of inert uniformity. In other words, just as water seeks the lowest level as a result of gravity, so do all constructions of man eventually return to the dust of the earth if left unattended over an extended period.
All things created began with a word, and that Word in the beginning was Christ who is the Incarnation of the whole Word of God. No bit of matter in the constellations of Heaven, or in the earth exists apart from that Word from on High.
There exists a spiritual creation as well as a physical one. The physical creation conforms to the Word of God, but is marred by the inept and corrupt hands of men. The same is true of the spirit of man For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. The outward appearance does not always represent what lies beneath the surface in the heart of man. The greed, pride, and insolence of his heart is often covered by a veneer of glossy marble so that he appears righteous though evil in his heart.
The Jewish rulers of the time of Christ are excellent examples of the wickedness that can be covered by the outer robes of righteous appearance. In their hearts, they were evil, and that evil was formed by evil thoughts. They could not accept the word of God though they knew it to be genuine.
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OE unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. 28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
There is just a little difference between the heart of man and the digital computer – Garbage In, and Garbage Out! Whatever we covet in our hearts will be turned to reality. If we fill our hearts with, not only the words, but the spirit, of the Holy Scriptures, only righteousness will be evidenced from that heart that is well-programmed. But if we feel our minds with the depraved ‘opinions’ of man, regardless his exalted station, only wickedness will be hidden in the heart.
Though I am not certain, but I do believe it was Chesterton who put forth a very true adage: We often learn in the opposite way in which we should. We too often learn through our minds into our hearts instead of the more Godly manner of learning through the heart to the mind. If our thoughts are filtered by a heart stayed on Christ, the result will be a mind that is subordinated to righteous thoughts, . Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. (Isaiah 26:3)
We condition our hearts to righteous living by entertaining pure thoughts and principles set forth by the Maker of our bodies, souls and spirits. We do not expose our minds, or the minds of our children, to the depraved media that is being constantly propagated by a world gone mad with the wickedness of the Serpent of Eden.
Earlier this year, a blessed friend of mine, Bishop James Flanagan, passed into the clouds of glory in Philadelphia. I had the distinct honor to preach his funeral sermon. His wife, Mary Lou, also a close friend of many years, informed me that she and +James said the Lord’s Prayer as the last thought of the day before sleep. Now, I and my wife follow his example and, though it may seem a simple thing, it clears our minds and hearts of the filth with which we are daily confronted in this world and makes way for righteous thoughts throughout the night. I have remembered thy name, O Lord, in the night, and have kept thy law. (Psalm 119:55)
