The Important Stuff
“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight. “Philippians 1:9
The word gestalt is a German word which sums up the core thoughts and experiences that tell us who a person really is when integrated as a whole. This is opposed to the outer personality or the image someone projects. Jesus was great at nailing people’s gestalt, and once He found a handle, He went for it. He could go there because He loved them deeply. This is why, for God’s man, there is a defined connection between deep Christ-like love for people and the insight God gives you into others.
Similarly Jesus hugely disdained and chastised those with spiritual costumes who only pretended to care for people. They were clueless to the real needs in people’s hearts because they loved themselves more than the people they were trying to help. The point is, why would God give any man insight into people if the man had mixed motive in his heart?
This spiritual skill also implies a clear ability to help others understand what really matters in life in order to integrate those core values into our lives. Our task as God’s men in connecting with others is to be guided by love and an ability to discern, to see the important stuff. “What’s that?” You ask. It means you care enough to know their heart issues and you’re good at asking questions that connect to the heart. Things like family, losses, relationships, personal core issues, hurts, personality and wiring. His dream for you is not to be a good heart doctor but a great one like Him.
Father, thank you for reminding me the heart issues are the important stuff.