She was a seller of purple and she was a worshiper of God. You get the sense she was a respected business person. You know that she was a seeker of the kingdom . . . though, she likely knew nothing of what that meant. For all she had, a thriving business, a good reputation, a functioning religion, what she didn’t have was new life. She didn’t even know she needed new life. She had not heard the gospel . . . was likely unaware of her need for repentance . . . probably had never been able to put her finger on her underlying problem, sin. And, if she had recognized the problem before, she certainly had no idea what to do about it. Enter Paul, and the Word of God preached. Enter the Spirit of God, and the Word of God understood.

One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after she was baptized . . .    (Acts 16:14-15a ESV)

I’m reminded this morning that our salvation is fully, and wholly, the gracious work of a loving God. Not only did Jesus pay the price for sin . . . but, through His Spirit, He also pursues the sinner. And, more than just provide the gospel to a lost world, He also opens hearts to receive and believe that it truly is good news.

The word for “open” here has the idea of something being “opened thoroughly” . . . drawn asunder . . . divided. The Lord, through the active agency of the Holy Spirit, splayed the heart of Lydia that she might understand and heed the message of the gospel. Whatever the barriers may have been . . . pride due to her success . . . self-sufficiency because of her income . . . spiritual lethargy because she had the “spiritual part” of her life covered . . . or, just a contentment with where she was in life because she didn’t know that anything better existed . . . whatever those barriers, whatever those doors, the Spirit of God demolished them . . . the living Christ kicked them down . . . and her heart, through the grace of God, was opened to heed the gospel proclaimed by Paul.

God, through the Spirit, is the active agent in bringing believers to faith in Christ. The Lord Jesus, through the Spirit, is the pursuer of lost sheep, the seeker of lost souls, furrowing hard ground that seeds might be sown which put down deep roots and bear much fruit unto eternal life. The Spirit, one with the Father, sent by the Son, is He who makes the Word of God living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword . . . opening wide the heart to receive the good news of sins forgiven.

O’ may the wonder of God’s initial act of grace, the opening of our hearts to believe, never cease to amaze us. May we never get so far along in this pilgrim journey to somehow take credit for having entered into it. May we often offer awe-filled worship to the One who opened our hearts to pay attention to His Word . . . who opened our eyes that we might see and believe.

An open heart. It was the initial act of grace . . . it is the continuing evidence of grace.

All glory to God for an open heart . . .