A new heart
Am 3In December 1967, the South African transplant team, led by Christiaan Barnard, performed the world's first human heart transplant in Cape Town. The patient, Louis Washkansky (Waschkanskie), had a non-viable heart.
The Bible describes the heart as the fundamental motivation of our lives. The heart guides all our thoughts, words, and actions, and influences our behavior. In choosing the king from among Jesse's sons, God looked directly at the heart: "But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not look at his appearance or his stature, for I have rejected him. For the Lord does not look as man does: Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.'" (1. Sam 16,7).
We humans focus on the outward appearance. We cannot discern the state of our hearts from within ourselves, nor are we able to change it with our own strength: “The heart is deceitful and wicked; who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” (Jer 17,9-10).
Only God can judge our hearts, influence them, and heal them. God's will—His law—must be written directly on our hearts: “But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their people and I will be their God. They will no longer teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” (Jer 31,33-34).
It is God who wants to replace our deceitful hearts: “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 flesh. I will put my Spirit in you and move you to walk in my commandments and be careful to obey my laws.” (Hes 36,26-27).
How wonderful our Creator is. Through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, all our debts have been forgiven, we are reconciled with God. Therefore, God gives us a new heart, a new motivation for life, by writing his law in our hearts:
“Therefore, from now on I judge no one by human standards, not even Christ, whom I once judged in this way (Paul is speaking of himself). Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is the new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.” (2. Kor 5,16-17).
Imagine that for one day and one night, Jesus leads your life with His heart while your own heart takes a break. You experience a metaphorical heart transplant, where the heart of Christ guides your life. His priorities direct your actions, and His desires shape your decisions. His love governs your behavior. Consider what kind of person you would be. Would your neighbors, your family, and your colleagues notice a change? How would the poor and helpless be treated? Would your friends experience more joy, and your enemies more mercy? How would you feel? What impact would this change have on your stress levels, your mood, your emotional state, and your feelings? Would the heart of Jesus influence your attitude toward death, taxes, or other drivers? Would you stick to your planned activities for the next 24 hours? Review your schedule, your commitments, and your appointments. Would anything change if Jesus had taken the lead in your heart? By vividly imagining how Jesus, through his exchanged heart, guides your life, you can recognize what God's will is: "Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus." (Phil 2,5).
Before God's intervention, we were slaves to sin; we all served sin and had an insatiable craving for it. Through the sacrifice of Jesus, we have been redeemed from sin and no longer have to obey sin, but our new Lord Jesus Christ: “Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not obliged to the flesh to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father!’ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.” (Röm 8,12-16).
Jesus redeemed us from sin. We are now children of God and belong to our Creator. God's will is law for us, and He has written this law directly on our hearts. We now belong to God, no longer to ourselves! It is God who now determines our way of life, and He works directly from our hearts: "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God with your body." (1. Kor 6,19-20).
We should never forget the high price at which God redeemed us: “For you know that it was not with perishable things like silver or gold that you were redeemed from the futile way of life inherited from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot.” (1. Petr 1,18-19).
We are God's most precious possession. He has invested everything in us and given us a new heart so that we will not fall back into bondage to sin. When we are aware of our identity in Christ and that we are God's possession, our entire outlook on life changes. If I, as a business owner, hire an employee, I can expect them to represent my interests during working hours and not use that time for personal activities. It's the same with God. We belong to Him, and He is in charge of our lives! If you were a car, God would demand control of your engine. If you were a computer, He would claim the software and the operating system. If you were an airplane, He would take the pilot's seat. Because you are human, He wants to transform your heart. The new person lives with Jesus, who has taken up residence in their heart: "Be renewed in the spirit of your minds and put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." (Eph 4,23-24).
This new heart, this new mindset, should have an impact on our lives: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and sanctify your hearts, you double-minded.” (Jak 4,7-8).
God has given us a new heart. God rejoices when we gratefully return his love! Our physical body is spiritually dead because of sin. It is the new heart, Christ within us, that makes us spiritually alive. Paul writes that it is no longer he, but Christ who lives in him: “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Gal 2,19-20).
When our hearts are transformed to new life by the Spirit of God at baptism, then we are secure in Christ Jesus: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.” (Röm 8,1-2).
In Christ we are sinless! “But if Christ is in you, then although your body is dead because of sin, your Spirit is life because of righteousness.” (Röm 8,10).
Our bodies are dead, crucified with Christ. We no longer have a sinful nature, but sin lives on. It can tempt us to sin because it is still part of this world until Jesus returns. Let us be guided by the Spirit of God and allow Christ to live in us. Let us be aware in every situation that Jesus dwells in us and is our new, replaced heart. This is true life, this is our hope and security. A heart filled with his love and his eternal life: "For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin. For whoever has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him." (Röm 6,6-8).
Let us recognize our calling as beloved children of God and as his special possession. Let us dedicate our whole lives to him as a living sacrifice, since he has already redeemed and made us alive in Christ: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Röm 12,1-2).
Our way of thinking, our innermost desires, our motivation for life find their origin in our new heart that God has given us. Our life is in Jesus Christ and in his presence in us. His life will increasingly affect how we speak, behave and act. Through Jesus Christ, God has carried out a wonderful exchange of your heart so that you can live a new life in him. In fellowship with Jesus, you can also participate in fellowship with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He has implanted a new heart in you and enlivened you with the spirit of his Son. Your life is based solely on the grace and mercy of the Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ! Thank God again and again that he lives in you and that you are filled by him. Your gratitude allows this significant fact to take shape in you more and more!
by Pablo Nauer
More articles about the new heart:
