There is such an unspeakable beauty and breathtaking awesomeness to the brilliance of the “mind of God”. And whilst this is evident in almost everything we see about us, not to mention in all that we have come to know and love about God as vividly portrayed through His Word, this can be seen even closer to home. For through His mind-boggling forethought and purposefulness, God has intentionally designed the functional working of man’s “physical heart” to be an exact representation and illustration of His Word’s living and working model of love. Which would go a long way to explaining why in Ephesians 2:10, that out of all that is the beauty of creation, that man is regarded by God Himself as His very own masterpiece. For when you come to see how central man is to the expression and accomplishment of God’s model of love, and how intrinsic man is in God’s blueprint design of His model of love, as well as how the actual design of man’s heart perfectly mimics and mirrors the working of His spectacular blueprint for love, is it then really any wonder that God regards man as His masterpiece? For it is truly incredibly humbling and remarkably overwhelming when you get to see it. And an unspeakable privilege to be a wheel within the wheel of His master plan of love.

     In representing a crucial working element of His masterpiece of love, in His Word, being the gold standard of what is true and excellent, is it not true that out of “all things”, that God regards “love” as the highest good? For is it not written that “If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have absolute faith so as to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing”? (1 Corinthians 13:2). And is it not also true that the “universal icon of love” is none other than the “human heart”? So is there really any coincidence then, that as the icon of love, that the design and operation of the heart of the masterpiece of man then deliberately mimics and represents God’s perfect model of love?

     This same awesome God tells us that the "model of true love" is found in the two greatest commandments, being Matthew 22:37-39. Which would make sense. For if love is the greatest good, then surely it should be none other than the two greatest commandments that then represent that greatest good? And in representing this greatest good, and in the design and function of the human heart mimicking the model for these two greatest commandments, these two commandments work together like the operation of the human heart. For just like on the one side of the heart there needs to first be an “inflow”, and then on the other side, there then needs to be an “outflow”, when it comes to God’s perfect model of love, there needs to first be an “inflow” of love from “communion with God”, which is catered for by Matthew 22:37, which is to love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your mind and all your strength, and then an “outflow” of love through "community with man", which is catered for by Matthew 22:39, which is to love your neighbour as yourself.

     And in going back to Ephesians 2:10, being about man being God’s masterpiece, in this scripture, God makes a further profound statement. He says, “so we can DO the GOOD THINGS He planned for us LONG AGO.” The measure of what is "long ago” for someone like God truly showcases the sheer enormity of His forward-thinking, and the extent of His premeditation and deliberation in all things, especially for man. So before the foundation of time, God planned for, and made provision for, that if we lived out His two greatest commandments, by first “inhaling” out of the deep wellspring of Matthew 22:37, our cup would not only be full, but would overflow, then we would be able to DO all the GOOD THINGS His blueprint of the model of love catered for by “exhaling” out Matthew 22:39. For love is not only never idle, but true love is a “doing” thing. Which is also why in Matthew 22:40, it says that on these two greatest commandments hang “all the law and prophets”. For these two commandments being lived out and walked out is the fullness of love both expressed and accomplished. Which is what James was referring to when he said “be not only hearers of the Word, but doers”.

     So God has "premeditated" long ago that we all have TWO halves to the human heart, which maps precisely “to the pattern and operation” of the TWO greatest commandments of love decreed and blueprinted long ago. In this way, it is now clear to see that by God’s sheer brilliance and thoughtfulness, that the heart, being the symbol of love, clearly demonstrates that the fullness of love is “a TWO-WAY operation”, just like the human heart is a two-way operation, one upon which all of life depends, both in the physical and the spiritual. And as an expression of the outflow of "God's heart", for those who are children of God, being those who are led by the Spirit (through communion) (Romans 8:14), then out of the abundance of the "heart of man" so filled BY the Father and WITH the Father, we get to partake in the greatest privilege of all, which is to share the extravagant love of an astonishingly intimate and thoughtful Father with all who are our neighbour (through community). And in that way, in the operation of the fullness of love, man then becomes that side of "the pump house of God’s heart" that receives the oxygen-rich (or Spirit-filled) blood from “communion with the Father” and then pumps it to “the Body” through “community with man”, just like the physical heart pumps blood to the physical body.

“Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

(MATTHEW 22:37-40)