Day 20: The Life
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you;
I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
Ezekiel 36:26
Most shops these days give a lot of grace for returns for Christmas purchases. Rather than just the usual one month return period, some places even let you return things bought in October by the end of January so that unwanted presents can be swapped or returned.
In an even greater display of grace, Jesus came to give new hearts to his people.
Ezekiel was a prophet who spoke to God’s people who were in exile in Babylon. Most of the book of Ezekiel is an unrelenting, uncompromising message, calling out sin, and pronouncing judgement.
The family that should have been God’s light to the world was in darkness and disarray. There was no quick fix. Their problem was deep rooted. The biggest issue was their own dark, deceptive, and sinful hearts. Their hearts were hard as stone towards the Lord, and they couldn’t help themselves.
But God also promised hope. He would intervene. He would perform spiritual heart surgery and take dead, lifeless souls and give them new hearts, and new life. He is the one who could help. He sent his Son to make it happen.
This is still our greatest trouble today. There is nothing we can do to sort ourselves out. Any changes we make, any ways we help ourselves will only last a time. We can’t change our sinful, dark, dead hearts. But Jesus can.
We could spend all our days trying to fix our dead hearts, and we’d get nowhere.
We could try all the self-help books in the world, but would still be dead in sin.
We could put all our effort into trying to obey God’s law, but we’d still fail.
We’d love a quick, convenient return and exchange, but it’s costly.
And Jesus paid the price. He came to die so we might have new hearts. The call now to all people everywhere is to trust him, to call on his name and be saved. The cost for us will be to leave behind our dead, old hearts, and live by faith in Jesus.
If we’re trusting Jesus, we will have new hearts, we’ll be changed. Our desires will be changed, our hopes will be changed, our loves will be changed, our very being will change. We’ll be different people, we’ll be alive!
When we’re born again we’ll start to hate our sin, so we’ll start to fight our sin. We’ll start to love Jesus, and want to share him. We’ll stop living for the temporary, and put our hope in eternity. We’ll begin to love others in humility and service. We’ll start to grow.
Today, praise God for new life, and pray for growth – both in ourselves, and in others.
Written by Pete Bell
A Thought to Remember: Jesus came to give his people new hearts.
A Bit More to Read: Ezekiel 36:16-37
A Question to Ask: How can you see your heart changing as you grow in trusting Jesus?
A Song to Sing: O Come, All Ye Unfaithful
A Picture for the kids: Heart