Humble, Contrite, & Broken vs. a Heart of Stone

God is not looking for ways to keep you or anyone else out of heaven. Quite the contrary: He's looking for ways to get you in.

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)

He wants heaven to be filled with as many souls of men, women, and children as possible. It starts with forgiveness, but our redemption (that is, buying us back from the horrible contamination and condemnation of sin) doesn't end there. God doesn't stop with forgiveness, not even close. Each of those souls will be far more than forgiven. Each one will be redeemed, transformed, and conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. (Romans 8:29; How I love Romans 8!)

For that to happen, though, a person must be humbled and tender before Him, maybe not perfectly tender, but tender enough for Him to accomplish what He wants to accomplish. He really can't do much with a person who has a heart of stone, that is, a person who doesn't see their deep need to be redeemed, transformed, and conformed to the image of Jesus.

Me? As a "sincere-as-I-know-how-to-be" Jesus follower/believer/truster, I deeply saw (& still see!) my deep need before Him, and I believe that I've been redeemed. As Colossians 1:13-14 puts it,

[The Father] has delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the control and the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, In Whom we have our redemption through His blood, [which means] the forgiveness of our sins. (Amplified Bible)

The same works for you, as long as you don't have a heart of stone. A person who has heart of stone is very difficult for God to do anything with. A heart of flesh may not sound much better, but at least it's something God can work with. That's all He's asking for & that's what He's hoping to place in each of us. As God says in Ezekial 36:26,

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.

But for that to happen, each one of us must begin with at least some understanding of our own filthiness and uncleanness before Him. That's the starting line. It's not about being religious enough or doing enough good deeds to make yourself right before Him. In fact, thinking you're religious enough or have done enough good deeds to be right before Him does just the opposite: it keeps you from being right before Him. Jesus tells a story that is really the heart of today's post:

Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men — extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.' And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. (Luke 18:9-14)

We so easily fall into the trap of legalism, working to be religious enough to earn favor with God and doing enough good deeds to make ourselves right before Him. May He save us from the trap of false religion and false righteousness.

For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones...To this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word. (Isaiah 57:15 and 66:2)

Good, righteous living and deeds are wonderful. We should have them; our lives should be full of them. But those are the fruit of being right with Him; we must never think they're what make us right with Him.