God in Our Hearts

Lent 5 2009

Jeremiah 31:31-34

31The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 32It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD. 33But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the LORD,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.



A reliable constant in life is that change is always taking place. Our bodies are literally always changing. The grass in the meadow is always changing, even when it appears to be dead, there is life happening. Whenever and wherever life happens, change is taking place.

God has created and God is creating. God’s creation is never ending….always transforming into something new. Likewise, God’s relationship with human-kind is always evolving.

When we say that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and tomorrow, we mean that He is always at work. He is always changing our hearts and minds. He is always changing and transforming the world. Jesus Christ never changes in his unconditional love for creation. He is always faithful.

God’s creative and changing work is on bold display in today’s Jeremiah text.

It has been said that in this text, “God’s promise to deal with sin (is) not by destroying it but by creatively transforming it. God’s covenant was given to Noah, amplified in Abraham, codified by Moses, and tested in the wilderness. It is transformed once more in Jeremiah’s vision of a covenant written in faithful people’s hearts. (Paul S. Nancarrow - http://www.processandfaith.org/lectionary/YearB/2008-2009/2009-03-29-Lent5.shtml )

This new covenant will not be imposed on the people from the outside, but will arise spontaneously and effortlessly from within, grounded in an intuitive knowledge of God”.

God, speaking through the prophet Jeremiah, foretells; “No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, ‘Know the LORD’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD”.


“This new covenant will bring a new degree of intimacy with God: whereas the covenant of Moses was filtered through a metaphor of God as the ‘husband’ of the people (vs 32),
the new covenant will bring direct relationship: ‘I will be their God, and they shall be my people’ (vs 33). – And that’s all there is to it!

The intimate knowledge of God granted in the new covenant will be moral as well as intellectual, a change of the human will as much as a renewal of the understanding, inasmuch as the heart-covenant will originate in God’s gracious forgiveness of iniquity and sin.
The new covenant, therefore, will complete the movement begun with the covenant with Noah: God’s way of dealing with sin will not be destruction, but forgiveness and intimate relationship that will transform sinners from within toward greater satisfaction of God’s aims and ideals for the world”. (ibid)

We can see God’s transforming power at work in nature. National Geographic Magazine (http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2006/12/early-earth/appenzeller-text ) reveals that billions of years ago our planet fit the description of hell.

The lava we see emitted from volcanoes was what covered this earth. Literally, this planet was a lake of fire. But now it is lush and green. It is cool enough for people, animals, and plants to thrive.

God has transformed this planet into a paradise of abundance. When people suffer famine and drought, it is not due to inadequate food and water. It is because of sin. There is more than enough to share.

But humankind has an ugly tendency to choose darkness over light….hording over sharing. Indeed, private property does not even exist. For everything belongs to God.

Fortunately, God still changes hearts and minds. One of the hardest questions that people ask is “Why would God allow so much suffering and evil?”.
That question is always appropriate and always hard. But let’s turn that question upside down for a minute. Imagine the suffering and evil that would take place if God did not work within the hearts of human beings!

God does not simply sit back and watch. God is always at work. God is always reaching out and influencing people to choose light over darkness….good over evil.

Fortunately we have a promise. We have a promise that God will ultimately say yes to humanity’s no. God will give life even when we choose death.
Look at the resurrection. People saw holiness incarnated … and they killed it. They chose death. But God revealed his plan for all of creation. He chose life. He revealed it through the risen Lord.

This revelation continues to this day thanks to people in all times and places pointing to Jesus of Nazareth.

The Psalmist writes: (Psalm 51)
6You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
9Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
10Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.
11Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me.
12Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.

Rejoice and hear the Good News: God is in control! All will be well!
We will go through difficulties and suffering in this life. We will hurt from time to time. But it will not last forever. There is a promise of comfort. There is a promise of goodness and beauty.

Just as God transformed this planet from a lake of fire into a paradise, He will transform your personal hells into a personal paradise. In fact, don’t be surprised if He transforms the Hell of the Bible into Heaven.

God is bigger and better than any doctrine, scripture, or opinion.

He is the master artist, the ultimate parent, our loving and all-powerful Creator. Thanks be to God.