“And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart, so they will obey my decrees and regulations. Then they will truly be my people, and I will be their God.” Ezekiel 11:19-20 NLT
After the “path” of our hearts has been broken, our hearts becomes a stony ground without much soil. A seed sown in the stony ground sprout quickly but wilted rapidly when the sun came up as it had no roots. Likewise, we may receive the gospel with great joy only to fall away when we face trouble, suffering or persecution. The real test of our salvation is seen in our responses to tribulation, suffering and persecution. God does not save us from the problems in life but promises to be with us in our struggles through life.
When we have stony hearts, it is so easy to break God’s heart when we are blind to God’s love. The words of the song “Wooden Hearts” led me to a higher truth:
Please don’t break His heart in two
That’s not hard to do
‘Cause we all have such stony hearts
Jesus came to be our Shepherd of Love to lead us beside peaceful streams so that we can rest in green meadows. He renews our strengths and guides us along the right paths so that we will bring honor to God’s name. Jesus came to give rest to our souls and to change our stony hearts into tender hearts. Then we can be firmly rooted in God’s love. Jesus identified himself with our stony hearts by going through the “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mark 1:4):
“One day when the crowds were being baptized, Jesus himself was baptized. As he was praying, the heavens opened, and the Holy Spirit, in bodily form, descended on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.” Luke 3:21-22 NLT
The baptism of Jesus by the Holy Spirit highlights our need for repentance and forgiveness. It is through repentance and forgiveness that we can be born again and have the hope of new life as a child of God. Dorothy Lee makes the insightful observation that “as a human being, Jesus descended into the waters of sin and suffering in order to quench them.” Baptism is an act of identification with sin and to prepare us for suffering that is part and parcel of our human life. When James and John, the sons of Zebedee, asked to seat in the places of honour next to Jesus on the throne of God, Jesus told them:
“You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink? Are you able to be baptized with the baptism of suffering I must be baptized with?” Mark 10:38 NLT
Our response to our struggles and suffering in life reveals the condition of our heart and how deep are the roots of our faith in the love of God. In a stony heart where lust, greed, pride and envy reigns, the seed of God’s grace cannot bear fruit with shallow roots. It is therefore so important for us to be aware of our sinful desires through contemplative prayer. After his baptism Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness where he was tempted by the devil with God’s promise in Psalm 91:11-12:
“Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’” Matthew 4:5-6 NLT
In times of difficulties we are tempted to put God to the test to remove them instead of asking the Holy Spirit to use our difficulties to reveal our sinful desires. Advent is the season of spring cleaning our hearts so that the Holy Spirit can fill them with the love of God. It is a time to rejoice in our identity as the children of God and ambassadors of our Prince of Peace:
Glory to the newborn King!
Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings
Ris'n with healing in His wings
Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth
Hark! The herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King!”
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