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.
I remember many times driving along on the highway and finding
myself next to a car-carrier. One of those times I actually noticed the massive
truck with movable ramps and hydraulic lifts that can carry ten or twelve cars
at a time. What I noticed was the truck's paint was flaking off, as rust slowly
digested the finish. The metal was bent and dented from years of hard work.
Black stains marked numerous hydraulic fluid leaks. The truck looked so bad I
was almost afraid that some of the "ugly" would rub off on to my car.
As I looked at the old beat up truck, I realized that I
had seen hundreds of these trucks on the road before. But never once had I
really noticed the truck itself. Why not? Because what usually gets my
attention is not the truck. Instead, it's the load of new convertibles the
truck is carrying, or the sight of a dozen shiny new Mustangs that catches my
eye. Isn't it amazing how you can take a beat-up old truck, load it with shiny
new sports cars, and suddenly all you notice is chrome and aluminum wheels and
gleaming red paint? Isn't it incredible how the cargo actually makes the old
truck almost look good?
When you give your life to Christ, you receive an amazing
cargo, the Holy Spirit. And once inside your battered old life, he begins to
produce fruit that wasn't there before. Gradually, you find yourself with a
peace that you never knew before. You become more patient with your kids. You
learn to control your mouth instead of shooting it off.
In Ezekiel, God makes this promise to his people: "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. And I will put my Spirit in
you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws."
Over time, you actually start to become a new person. And
while the physical body you wear is the same, it becomes less and less
noticeable as your new "cargo" shines more and more brightly. One day
you realize that the beauty on the inside has totally overwhelmed the body on
the outside, and people are drawn to you because they desperately want what you
have.
If you're trying to "enhance your image" or
make yourself more attractive to others, maybe you should spend a little less
time on your biceps and buns and a little more time on your soul and your
spirituality.
After all, it's the cargo that makes the truck look good,
not the other way around.
Dear Lord, we pray that we would focus on the cargo we
carry so that we may be more and more like You. We pray today that those around
us we see You through us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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