Rend Your Heart

Reflection 

In a conversation with a colleague, I learned that she was a plant whisperer. Her love for caring for plants and helping others solve plant dilemmas came to the forefront as we chatted while making coffee. I leaned in and told her about the sad plant in my home that I was about to toss in the trash. I had watered it faithfully, placed it near sunshine, and clipped the dead leaves, but it just wouldn’t flourish. She asked me some questions - what kind of plant it was, what the container looked like, and what the condition of the leaves and roots was. She encouraged me to take the plant out of its planter, pull apart the roots, and replant it in a larger container with fresh dirt. I questioned the tearing of the roots, as I was worried I would damage them, but she let me know that the roots in a bundle without room to grow were impacting the health of the plant. I took her advice and was delighted to see the plant begin to thrive. 

Application

This past week, my pastor referenced a passage in Joel, a book of the Bible that I have not spent a lot of time studying. I was determined to crack it open and take a fresh look. Though little is known about the author, this minor prophet sends a powerful punch. Judah had time and time again disobeyed the Lord. Joel communicates that this is the day of the Lord (a signal that God was about to do something in the near future) and that the destruction is from the Almighty (Joel 1:15) lest they miss its significance. Locusts had come to destroy the vegetation, and fires swept through the land. Everything was devastated by this judgment from the Lord, from fields to the water supply. Joel calls the priests to lament, put on sackcloth, and cry out to the Lord. And then in Chapter 2, there is a section entitled, “Rend Your Heart.” Rend - this isn’t a word we use often today. It means to tear apart. In this passage, we gain an understanding of this imperative.

“‘Even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart, 

with fasting, weeping, and mourning.’ 

Rend your heart and not your garments. 

Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and He relents from sending calamity.” Joel 2:12 &13

“Rend your heart, not your garments.” People in this time would show their repentance by tearing their garments in two, an outward sign that they were mourning. But God called them to rend their hearts - tear it apart, because He was and is more interested in the inward condition of our lives than the outward display. I love that this passage begins with “Even now,” signifying that, despite the disobedience and the devastation from their choices, even now, He calls on them to return to Him, giving their all to Him. And His response is one of grace and compassion. 

Closing/conclusion

Is the Lord calling you to ‘rend your heart,’ tearing it apart to allow for repentance and the tender care of our Father? The dying plant in my home had outward signs of care (watering, sun, and clipping dead leaves), yet it wasn’t enough. The plant was still slowly dying; the harsh tearing apart of the root of the plant gave way to future growth. How might the Lord be asking you to examine your heart? Do you need to rend your heart and not just your garments? Might deep repentance - as painful and truthful as it is - be the call from the Lord? Tear apart the root of the heart, and He is faithful to bring about compassion and grace. He abounds in love and desires for us to flourish - not on our own - but with His strength, following His direction, and in obedience to the author and perfector of our faith.

Maryellen Berry