From Scratch
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”
Ezekiel 36:26, NKJV.
The word of God is not meant to supplement what you already believe – it is meant to uproot everything you believe and take up the fullness of space within you. The above verse in Ezekiel highlights exactly this. God did not say he would add his heart to ours. He says he will take out our hearts of stone and give us a new heart. This means that relationship with Christ is meant to make everything new. Everything.
The beauty of having a relationship with God is that it causes a steady and certain transformation in you to be more like Christ. To transform means that you are coming out of one thing and into another. If you are not coming out of anything, if your beliefs and values aren’t slowly transforming over time to align with God’s word, could it be that you don’t have the relationship with God that you think you do? Evidence of relationship with Christ is being more like him. (And if you don’t know what that looks like, that means you have a wonderful opportunity in front of you to study the character of Christ.)
It does not matter how far in life you are – we are to come before God like children and present ourselves to him to rebuild our hearts, our perspectives, our understandings, and everything in between, from scratch.
“Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 18:3-4, NKJV.
Humility is the ability to come before God and say “this is what I think, this is what I believe, but I don’t know. You are God. You see all. You know all. Your ways are perfect. Your perspective is the only truth. Teach me. Show me the way.” Humility brings you to a place where you are willing to get it wrong by the world’s standards if that means more intimacy in your relationship with God.
I pray that you would become all that God has spoken about you. We have to continuously ask God to purify our hearts so that pride does not keep us from experiencing the fullness of relationship with Him - His perspective, His counsel, His comfort, His promises, and everything in between.