I just found this on the road while I was taking my walk. Sometimes it feels like I have one just like it rattling around in my chest. A heart of stone.

I have been reading the second half of John 14 but I keep stumbling over part of it.
“15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[c] in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”
22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”
23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.”
If you love me you will obey my teachings.
Obedience, do what he says AND don’t do what he says not to do.
I was thinking about this and how I fail and being hyper self critical when my dogs crawled up on the couch with me. We have 2 dogs one smart one, Piper and one cute one, Cooper- (I hope I can bring this all together, stone heart, obedience from love, dogs), and I realized something. My dogs love me and I love them but they are not always obedient. They don’t do what I tell them every time. Sometimes I will even change my command so that what they are doing matches what I’m saying. I change what I’m saying to match their behavior just so it looks they are obeying. “Piper, sleep!” or “Piper ignore me and continue barking!”. (The analogy sags a bit here). My heart feels stiff because my will is not always His will. Sometimes my will is counter his will. He still loves me. Jesus died for me and forgave before I committed any sins because he knew I would need to be bathed in forgiveness from birth.
A stone heart doesn’t feel. A stone heart cannot love. With a stone heart, I cannot receive love or give love. I constantly need to have my heart softened towards God and towards the people around me. I have received grace, I need to dispense grace.
In 2 places in the book of Ezekiel, God says that he will remove from his people, their heart of stone and in its place, give them a heart of flesh.
In both instances the heart of stone was caused by sin. My heart gets a calcified layer when I sin. Like candy coating. But I don’t what my heart to be crunchy on the outside. If I continue in sin the calcification continues until I have a rock in my chest, incapable of receiving love, Incapable of giving love.
““They will return to it and remove all its vile images and detestable idols. I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God. But as for those whose hearts are devoted to their vile images and detestable idols, I will bring down on their own heads what they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord. ”
Ezekiel 11:18-21 – NIV
I used to sing a song that says what I want to do about all of this. “Change my heart o’ God make it ever true, change my heart o’ God, may I be like You.”
(Originally posted 5/25/2016, revised and reposted 5/25/2020)
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