The Divine Heart Transplant

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." (Ezekiel 36:26)

We're experts at diagnosing the wrong problem. We look at our lives – the places we go, the things we see, the words we speak – and think we have a behavior problem. "If only I could stop doing this," we tell ourselves. "If only I could start doing that." But Jesus looks deeper and says, "You have a heart problem."

Imagine a man explaining what he sees when he looks at himself. He says, "My feet are taking me places I shouldn't go. My hands are handling things that I shouldn't handle. My eyes are seeing things I shouldn't see. I have an eye problem. I have a hand problem. I have a foot problem."

But the real issue isn't his hands, his eyes, or his feet. He has a heart problem.

We need something more radical than behavior modification – we need a divine heart transplant. God promised through Ezekiel to do precisely that: "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh."

This isn't a heart improvement; it is a heart replacement. A heart of stone is unresponsive to God – unable to see Him or hear Him clearly.

"I'll give you a heart of flesh." Another version says, I'll give you a heart that's pliable to God." A heart of flesh is pliable, sensitive to God's presence, and responsive to Him. Now you can hear Him. Now you can see Him. Now you can respond to Him.

The beautiful promise continues in verse 27: "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them." Notice the sequence: first the new heart, then the new behavior. God doesn't demand we clean ourselves up before coming to Him. He offers to transform us from the inside out.

This new heart comes with new spiritual eyes that can perceive what was previously invisible. We begin to see God's hand in creation, His truth in Scripture, His miraculous interventions in our challenging circumstances. Things that were once meaningless now have order and purpose.

The beautiful reality is that this heart transplant is exactly what Jesus came to provide. Through His death and resurrection, He made possible the complete transformation of our inner being. When we surrender to Him, He doesn't just improve our hearts – He replaces our hearts. This happens when someone gives their life to Jesus Christ, surrendering to Him as Lord and Savior. We cannot fix ourselves. Only He can perform the heart transplant.

Once we are "new creations in Christ" (see 2 Corinthians 5:17), we will enjoy new spiritual vision. This fulfills Matthew 5:8, which says, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."

Reflection Question: In what ways have you been trying to solve heart problems through behavior modification rather than surrendering to God's complete heart transformation?

Father, I recognize that my spiritual vision problems stem from a heart problem that I cannot fix myself. I surrender now to what only You can do. Remove my heart of stone and give me a responsive heart of flesh that can truly see You and yield to You. I don't want just to try harder to be good – I want to be made new from the inside out. I thank You for Your salvation and the gift of eternal life. In Jesus' Name, amen.

If you have never given your life to Christ, and you would like help in doing so, please go to www.joshfranklin.org/gospel 

Adapted from "Do You Want to See God?": https://www.joshfranklin.org/media/9tp8ys8/6-do-you-want-to-see-god