A Clean Heart

If you didn't know this about me, I am really picky about actors who portray Jesus. There is a long list of good ones! And a list of bad ones. The movie "Jesus of Nazareth" produced by the Catholic Church chose an actor who embodied the phase that calls Jesus "a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief". "The Jesus Movie" produced by the Pentecostal Church has one of my favorite actors. He portrays Jesus as a humble, every day man and he smiles a lot. His portrayal is very approachable, friendly and personal.

This month, we got a sneak peak into the next season of Book of Mormon videos. We got to see a small part of the scene where Christ visits the Americas. I was surprised at how emotional I became. This actor portrayed such love, peace and compassion. He made me realize that Jesus has a heart that is clean of anger, clean of resentment, clean of grudges, clean of agony. After all Christ went through in the garden, in his trials and on the cross, he came away from it with a totally clean heart. That is proof that he is God. It is also further proof that I am very mortal.

With all the experiences and heart breaks I have been through, my heart has collected scars, wounds, bitterness, rage, regret, anger and resentment. If Christ can carry all of the pains, sorrows, sicknesses, heartbreaks and sins of the world, suffer rejection and a painful death yet still have a clean heart, perhaps he can teach me how to have a clean heart. Perhaps he can cleanse and heal my heart from all the effects of my mortal experience. I believe that he can.

It has become a regular part of my prayers now to pray for a heart that is clean of anger, bitterness and resentment. I want a clean heart that forgives quickly and easily. A heart, like a child, that does not hold on to pain too long. It is going to be a long road getting there, but I believe in the power of Christ's atonement to heal all pains.