A New Heart: Why God Offers More Than a Temporary Repair

Have you ever had a repair on an appliance? We have a washing machine that has recently had a repair on it. It was making an awful noise (we call it the washing machine song and it isn’t lovely!) and suddenly stopped working. We called someone to come look at it and hoped for the best with our home warranty - a new one that worked and didn’t squeak and squawk and chug. The repair man came and found that a sock had gotten in between the actual tub and the wall so it got sucked up into the hose and made it stop working. No problem. Quick fix. Remove the sock and replace the hose and it works again. It was repaired and not replaced. But, I didn’t want to be ungrateful. It worked! It was still very loud, but it did what it was supposed to - wash clothes.

Sometimes we are like that squeaky washing machine and need a little tune up. We stop draining out the old dirty water and we can’t seem to wash things ourselves. Whether it’s a sock stuck in the hose, a burnt out mechanism, or something else, we just can’t do it on our own.

Our sin is like that dirty laundry and dirty water. Our attempts to deal with it are the repairs. We are replacing parts and it works for a while, but it isn’t like a new one. But with God, we can be made new! Not a repair,  but a replacement.

Ezekiel 11:19 says

"I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.”

Revelation 21:5 says

“He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.””

These two verses are reminding us that our temporary beings here on earth can be renewed and made better with God’s help. A new spirit and a heart of flesh to be in tune with God and sensitive to others. And everything new made by God when we join him in heaven. That sounds so wonderful.

The difference between what we can do for ourselves and what God can do with us is the difference between repairing and replacing. Repairing is a temporary fix. It is still squeaky and might break. Replacing means it is new, shiny, working in perfect order. Only God can do that with our hearts. But how do we tune into that? How do we get replaced hearts by God? That is where Jesus comes into play.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

2 Corinthians 5:17

Are you looking for a religious experience to repair you or are you looking for Christ to replace your old heart with a new one? While going to church and being a good person is all great, we have to accept ALL of what Christ has for us through salvation in order to receive what is new for our lives.  Do you have that in your life? If not, please reach out to us at Pretty & Wise and we will gladly talk to you about it!

Dear Father, please replace all our sin with your goodness. Let us not settle for a worldly repair, but long for all you have for us. We love you.