The idea of life transformation isn’t new. Although, it’s usually mentioned in the context of self-help or motivational speaking, those quests are overwhelmingly fruitless. In fact, there is no shortage of books, videos, blogs, conferences, pyramid scams and the like claiming to bring you with a set number of “simple” steps to supposedly change everything. So, if you are looking for your “best life” or to live “abundantly” the good news is; there’s a ton of material.
However, the bad news; there is no easy road to a life transformation.
That’s because we’re too often looking for the path to a life transformation in the wrong places. So let’s start in the right place and work our way forward.
In the words of Matt Maher, it “won’t fix your life in five easy steps.” You might be able to fix a diet, your finances, or a career path with a few simple changes. But, when a matter such as your inner being is at stake – when you need a full-on life transformation – it begins with love, which is unquestionably a heart matter.
Jonathan Edwards Resolution 48 and 49
As will become evident, this post combines both resolutions 48 and 49…
49. Resolved, that this never shall be, if I can help it.
Edwards’ Resolution #48 & #49 (in my modernized language) 48. To always consider the condition of my soul, so I can honestly know I am seeking after Christ all moments of my life so I will have repented of all my sins at the moment of my passing.
49. I’ll never neglect to seek a pure heart, if within my power to do so..
Life Transformation is a Gift
Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? – Ezekiel 18:31
If you are a parent, probably the last thing you want to do is punish your child or have your child require it. God certainly did not want to push his children. Rather, he sought their repentance. And he continues to want that of us today. So, in this context, instead of attributing punishment for sins of their ancestors, Ezekiel shares that the Israelites are to confess their sins and then cast them off so they are no longer a barrier to a relationship with God.
That’s because, in their repentance, they pursue a new direction one that leads to the Lord.
In the process, they gain so much more.
A new heart and a new spirit.
Looking for a life transformation? It might come from “5 easy steps.” But it probably won’t. A true life transformation begins as a quest for the heart.
Life Transformation Begins in Your Heart
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. – Ezekiel 36:26
As described at Got Questions, a new heart has to do with the “inner man.” That’s because, when God has given a new heart to a soul, that soul begins behaving differently. We people, though we are created in the image of God, are prone to the condition of our fallen humanity. It’s why we sin and we have no means to soften our own hard hardened hearts.
That’s what it means to have a heart of stone. One that is hardened. And is immovable. It does not change. That heart remains cold and heavy. A change of one’s heart requires a transformation divinely activated by the Holy Spirit.
When we ask for Jesus to enter our lives, God changes our heart from that impenetrable rock, to one capable of knowing and following God’s commands. .
Life Transformations Turns us into Living Stones
“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
– Jeremiah 31:33
In the Book of Jeremiah, we see the blueprint for God’s redemptive plan of Judah and Israel – thereby bringing together both nations under God’s rule. Through the prophecies of Ezekiel and Jeremiah, God introduces a New Covenant, making us new. We’re made new because of the new heart and new spirit within us and enabling us to walk in God’s ways.
Prior to this, Abraham and Moses were intercessors with God for their people’s salvation (Genesis 18; Exodus 34). Jeremiah, however, was prohibited from such intercession (Jeremiah 11:14). Instead, this new covenant would be direct with God’s people.
This new covenant, or promise, is based on a new means of salvation, is unbreakable, available to all, and purifying.
The first covenant was written as commandments on stone tablets. The second covenant is not cast in stone. Instead, as Ezekiel 36:26, tells us it’s written on the hearts of God’s people.
Examine Your Heart’s and Resolve to Stay True
I find it interesting that Edwards, after resolving to examine his heart, then resolves to keep the earlier resolution. A review of Edward’s diary on the date of Resolution 48 shows that he drafted it after his re-reading of resolution 17. That resolution shows that he was very aware of his human condition and desired not to enter eternity with regrets of how he had lived insufficiently for God.
How do we get to a state of our soul where we know we are living fully for God? We must first surrender to his will, and then begins the many little steps toward constantly being forged into new creations.
Creations with a heart of flesh, living according to his will.