Clean

[The Lord said,] “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.”

Ezekiel 36:25-26

FOR CENTURIES, THE people of Israel struggled with all kinds of sins: idolatry, rebellion, hatred, violence, stealing, lying, and everything else. Of course, many of them didn’t really care what they did, and God often had to carry out judgments against them that punished many.

But the faithful always remained, and many of those people felt guilt, pain, and remorse over their sins, no matter how small. They must have longed for some change internally that would make them pure, clean, and whole.

It’s in this passage that God promises through Ezekiel what he will do for those who repent. First, he will sprinkle clean spiritual water that will wash away all the filth of sin. Second, he will give them new hearts to replace the stony, stubborn hearts they were born with. Tenderness toward others and responsiveness to God will follow.

Do you long for such a heart? That’s what Jesus came to do: to make us new on the inside. That’s what being “born again” is all about. If you have trusted him, God promises that you have a new heart inside you that will give you that tenderness and responsiveness you seek. Let him remove the stones of unbelief and lack of compassion for others.