Change of the Heart

"Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil."

Jeremiah 13:23

Through the prophet Jeremiah, God revealed the true condition of His people:  as those who followed the dictates of their own hearts, they were unable to do good.  Their sinful habits were so ingrained in them, such an intrinsic part of their nature, they were incapable of change.  While the world often assumes man is basically good and will make the best choices if given opportunity, the Bible reveals man's natural inclination, preference and custom is to gravitate toward sin and settle down there like a hog in the mire.

As I considered this verse, I was reminded of "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens.  In film adaptations, the grumpy and stingy Ebeneezer Scrooge was particularly surly during Christmas, for he viewed the celebrations, feasts, gifts and extra expense as "humbug."  The night before Christmas, Scrooge was visited by the ghostly apparition of his deceased partner Jacob Marley who warned him of a tortured existence that awaited him.  Scrooge was given a glimpse into Christmas past, present and the future by three spirits, and the visions of that night opened his eyes to see how greedy and miserly he had been.  He was given a view of a ghastly future that could possibly be averted by a changed life.  The heartwarming part of the story is when Scrooge awoke on Christmas day a changed man:  generous, thoughtful and kind, the epitome of merry goodwill towards men.

While these films are enjoyable Christmas classics, from a biblical perspective they are works of romantic fiction gilded with humanism.  Somehow the frightful experiences of the night almost by magic stirred up gladness and generosity in the heart of Scrooge when he was a man with absolute poverty of soul.  Where did such carefree richness of generosity come from?  A leopard would change its spots before a Scrooge would.  Based on Jeremiah 13:23, such a marked transformation of a person that enables him do "better than his word" is impossible--that is, unless God miraculously does the changing!  The fear of death has no power to help people break off their sinful habits, and feeling lonely cannot change a man for good and free him of greed.  We have no power to redeem ourselves regardless how hard we try, but Jesus is able to redeem us by the Gospel.

"The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" by Dr. Seuss hints at the truth when the scheming, thieving Grinch stops short of dumping all the goods of Whoville when he heard them singing--despite the loss of all their food, toys and Christmas trees.  "Maybe Christmas," he thought, "means a little bit more."  Dr. Seuss leaves a blank for the reader or viewer to fill, and it is a void that is satisfied by Jesus Christ alone.  God is the only one who can make a heart three sizes or larger in an instant as 1 Kings 4:29:  "And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore."  God is able to make a person's heart far larger than any ribcage!  God is able to remove a heart of stone and replace it with a feeling, loving heart as He promised to His people (Ezekiel 36:26).  Only the God who created us can create in us a new heart (Ps. 51:10).