Monday's Marriage Moment -- A Heart Like Yours

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. - Ezekiel 36:26

I have been thinking over the last couple of weeks how amazing God is. I mean, loving me in spite of my faults -- amazing! Blessing me with a wonderful husband and children -- amazing! Filling my life with friends and loved ones -- amazing! I could go on and on, but God is truly amazing. He loves me no matter what. Doesn't that just bless you? He demonstrated this type of love to the children of Israel over and over again. He would bless them and cause them to prosper, yet they would turn to other gods. He would deliver them, and then they would complain. He would heal them, and they would forget that He was the One Who did so. Yet, no matter their disobedience, even when He had to chastise them, He loved them. That's the kind of love He has for us. He doesn't keep score or record lists of our mistakes. He doesn't give us what we deserve. He is always there for us even when we have not been there for Him. He doesn't do it so that we will love Him. He does it because He loves us. His love is perfect and unfailing. His love is not dependent on any action on our part. It is truly unconditional. Do you know that we are supposed to have that same kind of love for others? What better place to start than at home with your spouse?

In the Ezekiel 36, God desired to bless Israel, not because they had been so good (they hadn't), but because they were His. He desired to renew them because they were a reflection of Him. He knew that they could not live up to His standard by themselves. So, He makes this statement in verse 26: I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. God says, basically, I am going to give the help that you need. For us, the help we needed came in the form of the Holy Spirit. When we received salvation, the Holy Spirit came to live within us, and our heart was changed. Sometimes, however, we allow our hearts to grow cold. The cares of the world and the pressures of life cause our hearts to be calloused. Sometimes we get hurt and close off parts of ourselves promising that we will never allow that to happen again. As Ezekiel puts it, our hearts become like stone. They are rigid and hard to move. What are the signs of a hard heart? I think these are a few: being easily angered, apathetic, unfeeling, not caring about the needs of others.

Think about it: has your heart grown cold in some area? If so, God wants to soften it. He desires that you have a heart like His. He loves your spouse unconditionally. He loves you unconditionally. Take some time this week to ask God to give you His heart about your spouse. Exchange the hard places for soft ones. Let Him give you a heart like His.