"He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him."

Honoring Jesus isn't so much a matter of good behavior as it is a matter of the heart. It can be said that good behavior reflects the content of the heart, for as Jesus himself said, "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks." But words of the mouth, what our hands find to do, or what we set before our eyes, is not what demands our attention here. Every single human being on earth, and all that have come before us, and all who will come after, have said things, done things, sought things that dishonor the Son.

What is found in our hearts is the focus point of God. He alone among all that have life can see into our hearts. This shouldn't be surprising since he is life itself.

A popular saying is, "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions." Yet Jesus has made it abundantly clear that it is the intent of the heart that interests God. It is the intent of the heart that God evaluates.

There is an interesting word that I picked up somewhere along the path I have walked. It is the word, "proclivity."

pro-cliv-i-ty [proh-kliv-i-tee] -- noun, natural or habitual inclination or tendency; propensity; predisposition

My question then, is, 'What then, is the proclivity of my heart?'

Like all others, I fail to honor the Son in my life and behavior. These failures are habitual and while I can't seem to turn it around, I can also tell you this: There is nothing so natural, so elemental, so sincere, so deep within me as the desire to honor the Lord. This, too, is a proclivity. And this desire, this intent of the heart is seen by God, and despite the considerable hiccups in my life, brings honor to the Son.