A visit to a medical museum in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, last week reminded me how grateful I am to live in this time period.
A hundred years ago, a lung problem might have been treated–if at all–by putting the patient in an iron lung–a huge contraption that left one with no ability to move and nothing to see except the ceiling. A heart problem might have been treated with medication, or perhaps in the ’50s with a “heart-shocker.” The multi-bypass operations that are common today–though still risky–were unheard of even fifty years ago. We have several good friends and relatives who enjoy active lives today because of modern medicine.
But what all of us need is a heart transplant. Only when God takes our “heart of stone” and replaces it with His heart can we truly enjoy a full 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” (Ezekial 36:26, HCSB).
That passage goes on to say that it’s His spirit living in us that enables us to follow His commands. We see the evil and corruption in the world today and wonder how people can do such horrible things as shoot school children, steal from their own families, or use their power to abuse others. The answer is their hearts are made of stone.
As Christians, we cannot expect those who do not know Jesus to act like they are His followers. What we can do is to show them the difference He makes in our lives when He gives us His spirit to replace our stony hearts.
