Ezekiel 36:26-27 (NIV) – “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”
Let me start by telling you how much I utterly ADORE car accidents! NOT! Monday, I was in a car accident. We’ll make the story brief…the lady in front of me had on her brakes and I didn’t notice! Thus, I rear-ended this nice looking Honda. Now, I’ve never been a fan of Honda, but the lady seemed very distraught that I had accidentally (Hint: That’s why it’s called an accident!) broken one of her brake lights. The accident was definitely my fault. There is absolutely NO ONE I can blame for it. Obviously, I can’t blame the pretty looking trees or the vehicle that was definitely tailgating in my rearview mirror. (I’m surprised he didn’t rear end me!) Long story made short…My car is looking quite sad right now. My bumper is kinda hangin’ off and I have to CLIMB into the driver’s seat from another door.
One thing I love about this Scripture from Ezekiel 36 is that this cleansing that happens when we begin to follow God is shown clearly as a process. I can ASSURE you that the moment you ask for forgiveness that you’ve been forgiven by God. But, the process of chipping away the sin in one’s life takes more than just a couple words. It’s the climbing over the other seats phase.
Surgeries don’t generally last a minute and a half…patients’ loved ones spend hours waiting in a room that’s intense as ever waiting to hear news from the doctor. Surgeries take time. (I say this as I make plans to spend all day at a hospital with a dear friend when she has surgery…lol.) God is talking about a heart surgery. A surgery that will turn our hearts of stone into a living heart full of the Spirit. It isn’t an overnight surgery either.
Somehow I wish I could truly say “I’m sorry” and those words magically fix both vehicles as well as any repercussions of the accident. While I may be forgiven by the lady whose car I hit, I still have to deal with climbing over seats in order to drive my damaged car…like we sometimes drive our sin-filled lives. Until I take my car into the shop to get repairs done, it will still be damaged and cause me heartache every day as I remember my mistake and let it impair me. Let’s not wait too long to take our heart to God and let Him fix it and turn it into something so much better than what you have to offer. Beware, the surgery isn’t an overnight surgery, but it’s totally worth it!
Forgiven on the spot…Renovating surgery – forever. Won’t you begin the procedure today?
No comments:
Post a Comment