God is the original heart surgeon. In this passage of Ezekiel he is telling his people that he is going to replace their hearts in order to make them holy, set apart. They have been captives in Babylon and needed to understand God would not let them live like other cultures, worship other gods. As Christians, we have a similar message. We are to be set apart as the spotless Bride of Christ.

Living in sin, we had hearts of stone. With every decision to do things “my way” instead of God’s way, we put another layer of stone around our hearts. This kept us apart from God, condemned to an eternity away from him. Thankfully, we have the hope of Christ that provides a way to be reconciled to God.

When we repent of our sins, the heart of stone is replaced with a heart of flesh, and God gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit to guide us. The Spirit helps us obey God’s commandments, and walk away from things that are detestable in his sight.

Living counterculturally, requires the new heart from God as well as the renewal of our minds. When we begin to think as God thinks, we find joy and peace that cannot be found anywhere else. He alone gives us strength to make it through any trials we come up against. We learn to love as God loves. We learn to define our lives not by the things we have or the people we know, but by the way we see God working and the opportunities we have to serve him. We grow in faith and teach others to do the same.