The Heart

I Samuel 10 Then the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, and you will prophecy with them and be turned into another man...When Saul turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart.

Just like that. A new man. A new heart. A new life. Without self-help books, weekend retreats or religious seminars. Just a miracle of the Lord. In an instant.

While there are many wonderful tools of discipleship, only God changes our hearts. He replaces our old heart with a new one. He exchanges our heart of stone with a heart of flesh.

In Israel, at Wolfson Medical Center, I was allowed to watch an open heart surgery. A stool was placed for me at the patients head, between the surgeons, right above the patients chest. A platform theatre seat. This child had multiple heart defects including a missing inferior vena cava, and AV defect and a single atrium heart. In order to make the necessary repairs the child was placed on a heart/lung bypass machine and the heart and lungs were stilled. The heart was emptied of blood and the tedious repairs were made. Meticulous work. Life saving work. Life changing work. This life will never be the same. Blue fingers, toes and lips turn pink, filled with life giving, oxygen carrying blood. A new heart. New circulation. New energy. Now the blood reaches to all the extremities, all the nooks and crannies; hidden places. Before the heart was inadequate to bring oxygen to the very ends of the extremities. Not all of the body was being supplied. Hands and feet were cold, fingernails were clubbing, starving. For life. There was not enough energy to run, to play, to dance.

This child will always bear the scars where the work was done. Reminders of the life that was. Gratitude for the promise of the life to come.

Sounds so familiar to me. I was full of dusky, cold places as well. Lacking the energy to dance. To shine. My old heart was inadequate. I was starving. For life. And the Great Physician gave to me a new heart. A heart of flesh. He emptied my heart of the old blood and filled it with Himself.

I still carry scars, reminders of the life that was. But I am so grateful to the One who healed me and gave me a new life and the promise of the life to come. Sealed in Him. Never fading away.