The Tin Man

I was wandering room to room in an art museum several years ago when I came into an empty space with three large oil paintings. The canvas that drew me in was painted with a large heart. In collage style, there were items inside and outside of the heart. Some bloody gloves, tools, scraps of tin foil. The tin foil had me wondering a bit. Since it was reflective and shiny, I thought about how our hearts and emotions are simply reflections of what we are confronted with. We match anger with anger, hatred with hatred, judgement with judgement .... love with love. Or like Balaam's ass it could be a, "What was that for!?!" response. Later I thought it was more likely a reference to the Tin Man, "And Oz never did give nothin' to the Tin Man that he didn't, didn't already have."

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Jesus was not quite the simple and kind Tin Man. He saw and understood evil. His heart was fully informed but his responses were not reflective. He knew when to confront and rebuke evil even when it was masked by the concern of a friend (Surely not Lord) and he knew when to bind up a bruised reed and a broken sinner.

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We would be doing good to be on the level of the Tin Man. We will never be on the same level as Christ. But we can stick close. We can ask him what heart response we should have in any given situation at any time. Jealousy and anger may be healthy reactions in some situations. But God's jealousy and anger is not meant to repel us. It is more an outrage that we have left him. We do not wilt under this jealousy and anger for "his rod and his staff comforts me". It means that he cares but also that we have a choice. He will allow us to leave but there is a terrible price for turning your back on the source of all goodness. For God will allow you the folly of your own choices and the rule of your new master .... who does not love you.

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And for those times our heart is too broken to eek out any comfort or forgiveness of it's own, God's Spirit can bind, heal and bestow the grace that is needed for the situation. The measure of forgiveness you give will be measured back to you. Pay attention to the condition of your heart. You may reason that no one can see but, "out of the heart the mouth speaks" ... judgments are made and actions taken. Most of the time we are wearing our heart on our sleeve. Even without a word we communicate with facial expressions and body language. "My dear children do not imitate what is evil" but reflect the light. Look at the Son and "be transformed by the renewing of your mind". Jesus can give you clarity and understanding on a situation. Knowing the truth about something directs the appropriate heart response. Which results in proper action and communication.

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Finally, in all things humility. Even the Tin Man is not the Christ. Pride will cut you off from the leading of God for you have ceased standing on the truth and have begun to believe a lie. In order to remain in God's counsel and care we must love and obey him standing firm in our secure position of grace and the forgiveness of God given at the foot of the cross.