Not The Heart

Who, and what, is man?

I use the term “man” in a very generic sense here; one devoid of gender. Jeremiah in our passage, and those before, is trying to get the nation to see how God answers this question. We too must answer the question.

Follow your heart our world says.

This is a popular phrase in our culture. At one level this is an “innocent” phrase and can be helpful. However, we must be careful.

Other statements: trust yourself, my gut and instincts say…

We are sinful.

Jeremiah boldly in his prophecies tells the nation over and over again they are sinful. The problem was they failed to want to acknowledge it.

Individually and collectively we create sin.

You may say this is what I just said but I do want to remind us that sin is not just an individual concept. The OT did not just talk about individual sin but also the collective sin which produced more sin.

Romans 3:10 NIV

As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one;

Romans 3:23 NIV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Sin produces more sin, which produces pain and destruction.

This is the state of our world.

Self-reflection alone won’t cure it.

Counseling and psychology, which I am a fan of, may sometimes try to say if we just have enough self-knowledge and reflection we will be okay. I routinely ask clients to do this but I know it is not the answer.

We need healing.

This past week during the annual gathering we heard a message about how our world needs healing. Look at verse 14. We need the salvation of Jesus. We need the “discipleship” of Jesus.

Trust Jesus and His heart.

This is the answer to our natural state. This is where our hope comes from.

Ezekiel 36:26 NIV

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.

Get a new heart today!

This is our task.