SURGERY

And I will give them one heart and give within them a new spirit. And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them.  Ezekiel 11:19

I have seen a good number of surgeries from doing clinical time in the hospital for paramedic school, and it is pretty wild to see a human body opened up like a suitcase! However, I’ve never seen a heart transplant, and I’ve always been stopped by how sobering and comforting this passage is. A stony heart removed, a living heart given in its place. It denies any hint of self-improvement, and instead prescribes divine intervention. God is not offering to assist us in becoming better versions of ourselves; He is declaring that He must give us something entirely new. This is very different than the default settings I was born with! Somehow I easily revert to “just try harder”, and THEN surely I will walk in His ways…right? But Ezekiel reveals that the problem is not merely external behavior—it is the heart itself. And if the heart is the issue, then only God can supply the remedy. Another hammer blow to my flesh is that I need a new heart is given “that they may walk in My statutes.” Obedience is not the cause of the new heart, but the result of it! I don’t know if you would call me a recovering legalist….but

Whatever it is, I need to be reminded that God changes us so that we can live in fellowship with Him as a natural outworking of what He has done within.

Joe Ensley