"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of faith" Ezekiel 36:26
When I was a kid, we would play with Play-Doh. If you know what that is you will remember it was a colored clay. You could do many things with it. Mold it and shape it. Make things out of it. There were also toys you could buy to play with the Play-Doh. I seem to recall a barber shop, but I know there were many others.
There were many things you could do. You were pretty much only limited to your imaginations when you used it. They came in separate cans to store it. However, if you forgot to after playing with it - there was a problem. It would get hard and you could no longer play with it. It became the consistency of a rock and could no longer be molded. Tossed out as it no longer had usefulness.
The heart can be the same way. It can become very hard and stone like. When someone is like that you can tell right away by their words and actions. They are unchanging, stubborn, and defensive at every turn. Could also be an air of arrogance - believing they know best and their way is correct. Most of the time, it can be hard to reason with a person with that mindset. It leads to potential hostility and the banging of one's head against a wall, probably a stone one.
Our hearts are the same way at times with God. We can be unwilling to allow God to mold our hearts. Stubborn in our refusal to change our ways. Hard headed even.
We like things softer than hard. Sleeping in a soft bed or cuddled in a soft blanket. We prefer petting puppies and soft kittens rather than porcupines. Things tend to be more comfortable and less stressful.
What do we think about when we think of the terms soft and hard? Hard does not sound like a fun experience. We don't prefer to do things the hard way if we can help it. Dealing with a hard headed person is no fun either.
Someone with a soft heart will be more empathic and understanding. More willing to be more comforting to those in pain. Definitely more understanding to those around them. Willing to listen and ponder other ideas and thoughts.
However, with the way the world can be, we run the risk of our hearts becoming hardened to those around us and God.
It is really easy to do. Especially, if we become wounded. Watching the news you see all sorts of people behaving badly towards each other. Crimes & suffering, the inhumane treatment of people and animals. People being angry and bitter with one another. Wars and violence. There's a lot of things that we see. It's not just the big things I have mentioned. We see people being disrespected or ignored. It makes one want to cry. It can make you resent those around you. I am not saying that everyone is terrible, but after a while, you get a general sense that the nice people are a rarity, the exception. You might cry out that you can't love these people, they are not worth the risk of hurting yourself by opening your heart to them. No reason to be empathic to others who show no love to others. Your heart is wounded, becoming more calloused, and as time goes on becoming harder and harder. That way, it is safer than opening your heart to hurt. It feels safer not to feel.
We have all been there, It's relatively easy. It is self-preservation. No one wants to feel hurt. We want to guard our hearts, but we erect walls and not let anyone in. When we place walls, we don't reach out nor do we grow. We slowly die. You cannot grow plants in hard clay, only in the soft soil. In the same way, nothing grows with a hardened heart.
That's not what God calls us to. To harden our hearts and push away all from us. To hide behind our stone walls we place around our heart.
God reaches out to us. He reaches out to all, even those who curse His name. Jesus suffered immensely for everyone that we would be free from the wages of sin and be reconciled to Him. A heart that seeks the Lord is not one made out of stone. He replaces it with one that is soft. A heart that seeks the Lord follows the Lord's call. It reaches out to those that are hurting and lost. It's a heart that takes chances, running the risk of hurt. That will happen. But, we follow the one who renews us, heals us, and ultimately protects us. A heart that aches for the suffering, the lost, the angry, and the downright mean, is a heart that trusts the Lord. Life is messy, no doubt about it. We may be required to bring our mops. But, the Lord is the one who brings true healing not us. We just need to have open hearts to follow God, and love the people around us.
When I was a kid, we would play with Play-Doh. If you know what that is you will remember it was a colored clay. You could do many things with it. Mold it and shape it. Make things out of it. There were also toys you could buy to play with the Play-Doh. I seem to recall a barber shop, but I know there were many others.
There were many things you could do. You were pretty much only limited to your imaginations when you used it. They came in separate cans to store it. However, if you forgot to after playing with it - there was a problem. It would get hard and you could no longer play with it. It became the consistency of a rock and could no longer be molded. Tossed out as it no longer had usefulness.
The heart can be the same way. It can become very hard and stone like. When someone is like that you can tell right away by their words and actions. They are unchanging, stubborn, and defensive at every turn. Could also be an air of arrogance - believing they know best and their way is correct. Most of the time, it can be hard to reason with a person with that mindset. It leads to potential hostility and the banging of one's head against a wall, probably a stone one.
Our hearts are the same way at times with God. We can be unwilling to allow God to mold our hearts. Stubborn in our refusal to change our ways. Hard headed even.
We like things softer than hard. Sleeping in a soft bed or cuddled in a soft blanket. We prefer petting puppies and soft kittens rather than porcupines. Things tend to be more comfortable and less stressful.
What do we think about when we think of the terms soft and hard? Hard does not sound like a fun experience. We don't prefer to do things the hard way if we can help it. Dealing with a hard headed person is no fun either.
Someone with a soft heart will be more empathic and understanding. More willing to be more comforting to those in pain. Definitely more understanding to those around them. Willing to listen and ponder other ideas and thoughts.
However, with the way the world can be, we run the risk of our hearts becoming hardened to those around us and God.
It is really easy to do. Especially, if we become wounded. Watching the news you see all sorts of people behaving badly towards each other. Crimes & suffering, the inhumane treatment of people and animals. People being angry and bitter with one another. Wars and violence. There's a lot of things that we see. It's not just the big things I have mentioned. We see people being disrespected or ignored. It makes one want to cry. It can make you resent those around you. I am not saying that everyone is terrible, but after a while, you get a general sense that the nice people are a rarity, the exception. You might cry out that you can't love these people, they are not worth the risk of hurting yourself by opening your heart to them. No reason to be empathic to others who show no love to others. Your heart is wounded, becoming more calloused, and as time goes on becoming harder and harder. That way, it is safer than opening your heart to hurt. It feels safer not to feel.
We have all been there, It's relatively easy. It is self-preservation. No one wants to feel hurt. We want to guard our hearts, but we erect walls and not let anyone in. When we place walls, we don't reach out nor do we grow. We slowly die. You cannot grow plants in hard clay, only in the soft soil. In the same way, nothing grows with a hardened heart.
That's not what God calls us to. To harden our hearts and push away all from us. To hide behind our stone walls we place around our heart.
God reaches out to us. He reaches out to all, even those who curse His name. Jesus suffered immensely for everyone that we would be free from the wages of sin and be reconciled to Him. A heart that seeks the Lord is not one made out of stone. He replaces it with one that is soft. A heart that seeks the Lord follows the Lord's call. It reaches out to those that are hurting and lost. It's a heart that takes chances, running the risk of hurt. That will happen. But, we follow the one who renews us, heals us, and ultimately protects us. A heart that aches for the suffering, the lost, the angry, and the downright mean, is a heart that trusts the Lord. Life is messy, no doubt about it. We may be required to bring our mops. But, the Lord is the one who brings true healing not us. We just need to have open hearts to follow God, and love the people around us.
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