Who's heart are you carrying?

This week I read a devotional from our Divisional Superintendent, Tim Clark.  It was very good, awesome actually.  It was talking about Jehu and how zealous he was for the Lords work but how he had missed the heart of God.  He was so intent on doing the "work" that he lost the spirit and heart of the Lord.  The scripture says,
"Jehu destroyed Baal worship in Israel. However, he did not turn away from... the worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan... and Jehu was not careful to keep the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart" (2 Kings 10:28-31).

Jehu killed many people in his quest to set things right, but somehow he missed the true work.  The work of love, grace and transformation.  He didn't lead the people back to God, only to war.  He was passionate about getting rid of Baal worship, but didn't give the Lord all of His heart.  His motivation for the work of the Lord was questionable.  He got the job done, as a leader but at what cost?  Getting the job done should always take a back seat to love and growth (in ourselves and others).  How often do we kill the spirit of another by our harsh words, impatience, desire to keep everything in order, rigid demands, unyielding demeanor, expectations, controlling manner, territorial attitude, etc?  (I promise I am thinking of no one in particular, except well maybe myself sometimes.)

We, and by we I include myself,  can be so zealous to do the work of the Lord, that we forget to keep the law of the Lord with all our hearts.  The law of the Lord is to love God with all our hearts and to love one another.  I want to be a carrier of  the heart of Jesus in all that I do.  That means pouring out love, bending to the needs of others and being zealous not about the work but about Jesus and His people. 

May God grant us the determination to carry the heart of Christ in all that we do, and to love Him with all our hearts.