The Heart of Stone: Jesus’s Gift of New Beginnings

Sometimes it’s easy to be critical of ourselves. This criticism can often spill over into our spiritual and mental health, as well. We might compare ourselves to our role models or become fixated on certain habitual sins.

At times, we may get so obsessed with our imperfections that we start to lose sight of the amazing gift of salvation that Jesus Christ has given us through His death on the cross. My prayer is that through this article, you will come to understand the gift of new beginnings given to us through the blood of Jesus Christ.

New Beginnings in Psalm 51

If you ever feel frustrated with your sin, you may relate to the story of David. David found himself so caught up in lust that he ended up sending his mistress’ husband to die on the battlefield just so he could cover up his sinful affair. 1 Samuel 13:14 states, “The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people…” (ESV)

This verse is talking about David, the same man who did such a heinous act just so he could continue his sinful affair. David was at an all-time low when he was hit with the shame and guilt of his actions, and we can feel a similar way when we either make mistakes or fall back into our sinful ways.

David expresses his sorrow and shame in Psalm 51 and pleads with God, saying, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!” (ESV).

David isn’t asking for God to accept his sin, but rather for God to cleanse David of his sin, and to offer him a new beginning. If you relate to feeling frustrated with your shortcomings and transgressions, be encouraged that you can also share with David the opportunity to change your life around and start anew.

New Beginnings: From Saul to Paul

Another character in the Bible is the Apostle Paul, who was responsible for writing half of the New Testament. Paul was an obedient follower of the Lord, but like David, he also had his fair share of mistakes. Paul’s original name was Saul, and he was a Jewish scholar who went out of his way to persecute those who followed Jesus.

While Saul was traveling to Damascus to persecute more followers of Jesus, he was temporarily blinded by God. The Lord turned Saul’s life around by showing Saul that He was real. Ever since the moment in which God turned Saul’s life around, Saul was then referred to as Paul. The man who once tortured and killed followers of Christ had now devoted his whole life to spreading the gospel and writing letters to the major churches at the time.

In Scripture, we have seen David repent of his evil acts and Saul change his name when Christ got hold of him, and we too experience a spiritual rebirth when we commit our lives to Jesus Christ. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (ESV)

When we submit to God in all aspects of our lives, we aren’t the same person that we were before. Scripture tells us that we aren’t even the same creation, but rather a new creation, adopted into God’s family. John 1:12 says, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (ESV)

It can seem like all hope is lost when we keep trying to fix an issue present in our lives but keep falling short. However, God promised to give us a new beginning when we put our faith in Him.

What it Means to be Spiritually Reborn

When I first heard of the term, “spiritual rebirth,” I was confused. As a new Christian, I knew that God would forgive my sins if I trusted in Him, but how would I be re-created spiritually? It turns out that I wasn’t the only one who didn’t understand what Jesus meant by a “spiritual rebirth.”

In chapter three of the Gospel of John, Jesus was teaching Nicodemus, one of the Jewish rulers at the time. Nicodemus understood The Old Testament law well, but he was trying to understand Jesus’ teaching. Nicodemus came to Jesus to ask Him questions, and Jesus responded to him in verse 3 saying, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (ESV)

Nicodemus was a brilliant scholar, and he tended to take things quite literally. Confused, he asked Jesus, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” (ESV)

Now, obviously, we all know that Scripture isn’t insinuating that we must be birthed again from our mothers to be adopted into God’s family, but what is Jesus talking about when He uses the term “born again”?

Jesus went on: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (ESV)

The explanation is that one enters the kingdom of God by being born again spiritually. Once born again, a person should attend to their spiritual life in the same ways that we tend to our physical life. Just as we must eat and drink to stay physically healthy, we must pray and consume Scripture to stay spiritually healthy.

On our own, this seems difficult, but thankfully we aren’t alone in this battle after rebirth. The moment we start to rely on God is when our spiritual health is at its best.

Heart of Stone Turned Flesh – The Ultimate in New Beginnings

As Christians, we are called to be obedient to God. We are responsible for our actions and how we represent Christ to others through all of our actions. The good part is that if we are truly Christians, then the Holy Spirit will be at work in us. When we pray, we shouldn’t pray for God to make us greater but rather for God to use us as a vessel in the way He has planned for His glory and our good.

Paul states in Ephesians 2:8-10, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (ESV).

When we are part of a good work, this is truly God working through us rather than us deserving the glory or credit for what was done. As Christ’s followers, we have had our “hearts of stone” turned into “hearts of flesh.” God uses this analogy in Ezekiel 36:26-27 when referring to Israel’s resistance to God. This “heart of stone” is a heart that is cold, impenetrable, unwilling to let God take control, and spiritually dead.

Like a slab of stone, it doesn’t interact and has a hard shell. God gives us a heart of flesh. He puts His spirit within us so that we can obey God through the Holy Spirit empowering us.

Reflection

To recap, life is hard. There are issues that we all will face and at times, all hope truly will feel lost. God has promised us a solution to any issue that we will ever face, and this solution is to trust in the Lord through our hardship and let Him guide us through the storm.

We are tainted by our past mistakes and sins, but like David, God has washed us clean of our sins. Through Christ dying on the cross, we can have a relationship with God the Father again. Together, we can work toward a new beginning and trust the Lord throughout the whole journey.