Soft or Stony Hearts

The people of Israel had been conquered and scattered among the nations. God had removed his Spirit from the temple, and they felt abandoned. They had been warned of what would happen if they did not repent, turn away from idol worship and turn to God alone. They did not turn to God, and so he had exiled them. This was a punishment that was for their own good, to bring them back into relationship with God. He didn’t intend to leave them scattered and in slavery. He sent Ezekiel to encourage them, and to prepare them for their restoration.

I shall gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries among which you have been scattered, and I shall give you the land of Israel. When they come there, they will remove all its detestable things and all its abominations from it. And I shall give them one heart, and shall put a new spirit within them. And I shall take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my ordinances, and do them. Then they will be my people, and I shall be their God. Ezekiel 11:17-20

God would restore them. He would not abandon them to their sin but would bring them home. And then he would do the most amazing thing! He would remove their hard heart, their heart of stone, and give them instead a soft heart, a tender heart of flesh. Then they would be his people, and he would be their God.

This same thing happens to us. We sin. We refuse to turn away from the idolatry in our lives, and instead continue to worship power or money or ourselves. God withdraws his blessing. But he does not abandon us. He draws us unto himself. When we respond with repentance, he gives us one heart and one Spirit, so that we are part of one body to worship him. He removes our old, hard heart and replaces it with a heart of flesh, a soft and responsive heart.

Too many times we hang on to our old stony heart. We refuse to see our own sin, rationalizing it away. We look at others without any compassion, seeing only their faults and mistakes. We miss the look of hurt on our spouses face when we make flip and harsh comments, disguising it as humor. We overlook the tender feelings of a little boy or girl who just wants to feel significant in your eyes. We tear each other down instead of building each other up. We push ahead without ever seeing the people God has put around us, those who need our encouragement. We see the power of a leader instead of the breaking heart or the wealth of a coworker instead of the loneliness that she lives in. We choose a heart of stone.

God has given us a heart of flesh, a soft, responsive heart that reaches out to individuals regardless of their immigration status, their sexuality, their skin color or their gender. We have hearts capable of empathy regardless of social status, wealth, power or lack of it. We have soft hearts capable of loving like God does, of being his representative and of reconciliation.

Being soft requires that we are open to being hurt. Being soft sets aside old wounds and scars and loves anyway. A heart of stone can hide behind political affiliations, social mores and emotional walls; a heart of flesh cannot.

Jesus loved regardless of the cost. He who was God chose a heart of flesh, and loved us recklessly. He knew we would fail him, betray him, reject him. His people had done so consistently from the garden forward. And still he chose to love us and to reach to us, providing a way for us to be with him in relationship.

How can we do less? Only by holding on to our heart of stone.

Who has God put in your life to love today? Who are you hardening your heart against? What little person or poor person or illegal person or smelly person is God calling you to soften your heart toward?

Not too long ago God called me to love a group of ladies. I didn’t want to. Love requires vulnerability. I never agreed to love them; I just agreed to join them, as God was being pretty persistent about it. People are messy. We all carry around our own baggage that we’d just as soon leave somewhere else. We certainly don’t want to open it up and share it with others. I joined the group, God softened my heart, and I am so surprised by how much I love them. If I had chosen to keep my stony heart I would have missed out on so much blessing and kindness and friendship. When we choose to remain hard, we forget that sometimes the mess we’re avoiding is our own.

Soften your heart. Allow God to love through you. Allow God to love you through others.

People of Distinction

The land has been conquered.  Joshua stands in the middle of the nation of Israel, dividing the land among the tribes.  In the midst of this, Joshua establishes the Cities of Refuge, as per Moses’ direction. 

Killing a human was considered a terrible offense that polluted the land because man was created in God’s image.  Among the Semite peoples when a person was killed it was regarded as the duty of the nearest relative to avenge him.  An avenger of blood was appointed whose job it was to hunt down the killer and kill him, with no distinction being made between willful murder and accidental manslaughter.  This was the beginning of many blood feuds between tribes.

“You shall not defile the land in which you live, it the midst of which I dwell, for I the Lord am dwelling in the midst of the sons of Israel.”  Numbers 35:34

As God established the nation of Israel He determined that they would be different.  He established Cities of Refuge, three on each side of the Jordan River, with no part of the country more than thirty miles away.  A man who had accidentally killed another would run to the nearest City of Refuge and find justice there.  Roads were made and kept up to each of these cities, with bridges built and clear signs marking the way.  These cities were open to all, Jew or not, and the doors were never locked. Justice was built into the system God set up, and was for everyone, regardless of nationality.

When a man arrived in a City of Refuge he was given asylum until a fair trial could be held.  If he was proved innocent of willful murder he could live in the city until the death of the current high priest, at which point he could return to his home.  If he left the city or was found guilty he was turned over to the avenger of blood.

Jesus is our City of Refuge, with one important difference.  We are unquestionably guilty.  We run to Him, and He is accessible, open to all, and without him we have no refuge.  Because of His sacrifice, we have a totally sufficient salvation.  Because of His work in our behalf, we have hope in an otherwise hopeless situation.  In spite of our willful sin, God has provided a refuge for all who would accept it.  What are you waiting for?  Run!

“-we may have strong encouragement, we who have fled for refuge in laying hold of the hope set before us.  This hope we have as an anchor of the soul-”  Hebrews 6:18b-19a

There is an example for us who have already found our refuge in Jesus. We have an obligation to work for justice for all people. Our hearts should break for the orphan and widow who have no resources. We should stand for the people of color who are incarcerated due to lack of adequate legal council. Injustice is all around us. Will we be people who are different, who stand for God’s way of doing things and loving people, all people? Will we love with the heart of God?

Whose image do you reflect?

We’ve all been hearing a lot about politics and the running of our government lately. The Republicans think that the Democrats are irresponsible; the Democrats think that the Republicans are lacking compassion. Neither side wants to compromise or see the other’s perspective. Neither side wants to budge. Both sides claim that God is on their side.

I’m not going to argue politics here. I look at the life of Jesus and I don’t seem him involving himself in politics much. He was less concerned with systems and organizations than he was with people. He saw people. He saw their hearts and their hurts and their sheer humanity. The one comment he did make about politics was this:

         “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” Matthew 22:21

The Pharisees had asked him if it was okay to pay taxes to Rome or not. Rome was a vile, evil government, and the people were suffering under her rule. Jesus knew the Pharisees concern wasn’t for the people, called them hypocrites, and asked them to bring him a coin. He asked whose image was on the coin. It was a picture of Caesar. Give to Caesar that which bears his image, and give to God that which bears HIS image.

Pay your taxes, and value people.

Who bears the image of God? We do. In Genesis, we are created in the very image of God. All of us. Because we are human, we bear in some aspect the image of our God. Regardless of what you believe about God, or how you treat people, or how you live your life, you are created in his image. You are precious to him. When he looks at you, he sees a little of himself reflected back.

This has great significance for the follower of Jesus. You can choose to be involved in politics or not; you have no choice but to value people. People are hurting, and the response of the corporate Church and of the individuals who make it up must be one of compassion. And for the most part it is. I have been so touched by the people who have reached out to me with offers to help pay for my medications. I have experienced firsthand the love of God through his people.

But I have also been appalled at the anger and vitriol I have heard expressed over the politics of the day. There is no love expressed in the accusations against politicians. There is no love in accusing the poor of being crooks, who only want to milk the system. There is no love in the generalizations that see people as statistics and forgets that they are fathers who are watching their children endure illnesses without health care, or mothers who put their kids to bed hungry. We all say that we are willing to help if we knew someone who was hungry, but nearly 25% of children in our city, Vancouver, WA, live below the poverty level. It is estimated that 40,000 children in our state will go to bed hungry tonight. 1,600 people in our city are homeless. This is right here in our town. Do we see these people? Or are they just statistics, an ill to be cured? We tend to trust organizations to take care of these people, but due to the economy, many are unable to meet the need. The Lord’s Gym, a major contributor to helping people who need help, is closing due to lack of money and a building with overwhelming needs for repair.

Jesus said that he came to reach the sick and the lost. That’s all of us. It’s you and me. It’s the homeless and the poor. We have to open our eyes and our hearts to see and love those around us.

What can you do? What has God blessed you with that you can share? Programs need money. Mothers who depend on Headstart need childcare so that they can work while the government is shut down. People without jobs need food, and grace from landlords. The homeless youth at the mall needs at least a smile, and the knowledge that you see him. God wants to work through you, his hands and feet. What can you do? At the very least, you and I can be careful about what we say and post on Facebook, being sure that our words don’t blame those who need our compassion.