When I was a young kid, my parents were cruel to me… they would force me to eat things like broccoli and all other types of vegetables before I could be excused from the table at dinner (I hope the sarcasm of this sentence is obvious!). My way of coping with this “torture” was to flap my arms like a little chicken until I could choke down enough of whatever healthy food they were asking us to eat.

Now, I love broccoli! I no longer have to dance (although sometimes I still do since Lindsay’s cooking is so delicious!) to make it through dinner. I have had a change of heart.

In Luke 24 right before Jesus ascends into heaven, he tells his disciples that they and all of us must have a “change of heart” (verse 47, Common English Bible).

I know that my change of feelings about broccoli isn’t the same as what Jesus was talking about, but it sort of gets at the point. Our tastes, opinions, ideas – they evolve. And they should! And so it should be with God. Any relationship grows and changes over time. I think that is one of the aspects Jesus was talking about when he said we are to have a change of heart through the power of grace and forgiveness.

I wonder what a week of waking up everyday asking yourself and God, “change my heart today,” would look like. Try it. Join me this week in asking God to let us grow in grace and forgiveness towards each other and ourselves.

This isn’t the first time I’ve thought about this passage of scripture from the pulpit. To think a little more about this, see: Change of Heart

-Grace & Peace, Pastor Cole