A new heart

TODAY'S READING: Ephesians 4:17-24
I am fascinated by heart transplants. It is hard to imagine that doctors can take out a heart that isn't working right and replace it with a different heart. There were 2,016 heart transplants performed in the United States in 2004 and 2,057 in 2003. As of July 15, 2005, the one-year survival rate was 86.4 percent for males and 84.6 percent for females; the three-year survival rate was about 78.9 percent for males and 76.1 percent for females. In 2003, the five-year survival rate was 72 percent for males and 68.5 percent for females.
There is another kind of heart transplant that is equally amazing. It is the one that takes place when someone becomes a Christian. Paul describes the spiritual surgery that takes place.
The old heart that is removed is hardened and rotten. It is filled with impurity, greed, lust, and deception.
The new heart is shaped like God's. It's righteous, holy, and true.
It seems that Paul is writing to a church where, unfortunately, a number of people claimed to be Christians but never really had a heart transplant. Their actions don't seem to match their claims. Apparently they were unwilling to leave their old heart and old life behind.
Wouldn't it be crazy after a heart transplant to go back to the doctors and ask them to put your old heart back in? They would look at you and shake their heads in amazement. They know that putting the old heart back would lead to certain death for most.
But many Christians do the same thing spiritually. They become a Christian and claim allegiance to Jesus, but they want the old heart. They want to continue to enjoy the world they have been living in. They resist the spiritual renewal God calls us to.
As you begin the weekend, go to the Great Physician for a spiritual EKG (heart test). What is the condition of your heart? Does God need to take you into emergency surgery? Do you need bypass surgery? Or do you simply need to "eat" a little better? Remember that whatever goes into our mind impacts the condition of our heart. Are you enjoying a lot of spiritual "junk food" that is corrupting your heart?
Regardless of your condition, this is the time to take action. Every day we wait our heart's health could be getting a little worse. The new heart that God wants us to have will change how we live each day and where we spend eternity.

shine!
Jason