Inspired by Ezekiel 36:24-28
“A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26
We all need and want to protect ourselves from hurt. But sometimes in order to protect ourselves, we build walls around our feelings and emotions. Those walls are designed to keep out that which can hurt us, but those walls lack discernment, and so they keep out everything, both hurtful and helpful. And we languish, isolated and alone behind our walls, safe from harm, but cut off from connecting with others, including those who mean us no harm. And our heart grows cold in its loneliness, and we convince ourselves that we don’t need anyone or anything, that we’re fine just as we are.
But we’re not fine. Deep within us we long for a connection, to take down those walls, but fear prevents us from doing so. What if we can’t trust what’s on the other side? What if we’re hurt again? And worst of all, what if we’re no longer capable of connecting, of loving?
God tells us that it’s never too late. God has the power to lead us out of our own self-made prisons, and back into his grace. God has the power to change our very hearts into living organs that pump lifeblood through our entire bodies, rather than the cold keepers of hurt and pain we’ve allowed them to become. God can and will change us into the people we want to become, the people we were created to be.
Let us pray. Creator God, your creation is ongoing and never-ending. Create within us new hearts of flesh, that we may feel your love through the connections you have created throughout the whole body of Christ. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.
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