I love watching the classic movie, Wizard of Oz. A wonderful and imaginative story unfolds as Dorothy and her friends, the scarecrow, the cowardly lion, and the tin man, follow the yellow brick road on a journey to find the emerald city and the “all powerful wizard.” I think just about everyone can relate to the story on some level. Certainly, we are all on a journey (and sometimes we wish that “yellow brick road” was more clearly marked!). And I don’t think a day goes by that I don’t realize I’m in need of brains, a little courage, and a lot more heart! There is one line in the movie, however, that has bothered me since I first watched the movie as a little girl. It occurs in a scene near the end of the movie, when the wizard is attempting to grant the requests of the four travelers. He tells the tin man, who wants a heart, that a “heart is not judged by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by others.” Sorry, Wizard, that just ain’t so! In fact, the One with the biggest heart of all is not loved nearly enough!

I love to take walks this time of year. New blossoms seem to spring to life with each new day. Spring is the season of new beginnings, and it is a season full of hope. It is the season when we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord. It is the time when we try to comprehend the incomprehensible…that the One who spoke all things into existence, who set the galaxies spinning, and who fashioned man with His own hands, gave His own life on the cross for a world that did not love Him! “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us.” (I John 3:16) “This is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (I Jo 3:10). I simply cannot grasp a heart that big. But I’m on a journey toward an emerald city (and sapphire, topaz, amethyst and other precious stones…where gold is so common it is the pavement on the streets! Rev 21) Instead of a yellow brick road, Jesus Christ is the “way, the life and the truth” (John 14:16). He gives me courage (Phil 4:13), he renews my mind (Romans 12:2), and He is working on my heart (Ps 51:10)….a work in progress! Thankfully, my heart will not be judged by what others think of me, but by how much God fills it with Himself, because He is love (I John 4:16).