"And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live."
Deuteronomy 30:6
The family had attended church that Sunday morning when the pastor preached on God changing our hearts. Their nine year-old son asked the question, "How can we know that God has really changed our hearts?" The father said, "Son, that's a good question. When God really changes our hearts, we love the LORD with all our heart. You could say that it's like when I married your mother. I knew she was the one for me, because I love her with all my heart." Dad gave the right answer with a good illustration. I'm sure mom thought it was the best illustration.
Love is the sure sign that God has changed our hearts. We love God with all our heart. When we really love God, we love others. The two are inseparable. "If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us" (1 John 4:12). To the contrary, anyone who abides in hate toward others has the witness within of a heart not changed by God. The difference is simple, clear and unquestionable. Love is the theme for all who experience the heart changed by God.
There is an old gospel song with this question: "How about your heart, is it right with God?" No one else can answer that question for us. If we don't love God and others, the answer is self-evident. Only God can change our hearts. We can ask God to give us a new heart, a heart changed by the love and grace of God. God is still in the business of changing hearts.
We give You glory LORD for changing our hearts!
