Heart Transplant

"When they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them; I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, so that they may follow my statutes and keep my ordinances and obey them."

(Ezekiel 11:18-20)

I remember a story from my Greek mythology studies (9th grade English!!?!) where a person had the power to turn whatever he or she touched into stone (or am I confusing that with the story of Midas' golden touch? Was the stone guy a Saturday morning cartoon? Or a scene from "The Chronicles of Narnia"!?!). Anyway, Ezekiel writes about the opposite of that today: the people have hearts of stone and need God's touch to turn them into hearts of flesh.

We might say "cold hearts" instead of stone hearts. Uncaring, unfeeling, unaffected hearts that are not moved to compassion or shamed into righteousness based on our actions. The people of Israel apparently weren't affected by the many sins they propagated in the temple itself - in the very house of worship that was supposed to be Holy! That must change, God said. And God wasn't waitng around for the people to "come to their senses" and willingly return to Him. No, God would take matters into His own hands and perform a "heart transplant." No more stone cold hearts. Now we'd have God-created, living hearts! Hearts that would desire to know and follow God's ways.

I think it's a human condition to need a divine heart transplant. We are easily distracted, amused, and led astray. We know what we want to do, but often can't (or choose not to) do it. We have wandering hearts far too often. It must break God's heart to see how easily we stray. We allow sin to harden our hearts over time - it happens to us all. And yet God doens't give up on us. God still gives divine heart transplants! We are saved from our own frailties, by the grace of God.

PRAYER: I so want a heart of flesh, not stone, God. Keep my mind & heart focused on Your word and Your will so I can stay in line with what you want for my life. Thank You for Your Holy Transplant! AMEN.