Devotional Thoughts Based on the Glory to God Hymnal
Ezekiel 11:19-20

I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them; I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh.

In our family’s modest collection of objets d’art, there is an amethyst colored round paperweight. It has a portion of one side that is flat and etched in the glass is a heart above which is the inscription – “Mother. As well as I remember, I purchased this as a Mother’s Day gift or as a souvenir from my travels. The paperweight is hard and heavy for its size. My mother’s heart is one of flesh … one that beats … and one that generates love.

In our scripture reading God promises to give Israel a heart made of flesh and God will put a new spirit within His people. God will remove their heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh.

In the second stanza of I, the Lord of Sea and Sky, we see a scriptural allusion to Ezekiel 11:19-20. I, the Lord of snow and rain, I have borne my people’s pain. I have wept for love of them. They turn away. I will break their hearts of stone, give them hearts for love alone ….

Prayer

O God, we give you thanks for our hearts of flesh and that we have received your spirit enabling us to love. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.