I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God. Ezekiel 11:19-20
“Lord, shake us with the force of love,
To rouse us from our dreadful sleep;
Remove our hearts of stone, and give
New hearts of flesh, to break and weep
For all your children in distress
And dying for the wealth we keep.
Help us prevent, while we have time,
The blighted harvest greed must reap.
And then, in your compassion, give
Your Spirit like the gentle rain,
Creating fertile ground from which
Your peace and justice spring like grain;
Until your love is satisfied,
With all creation freed from pain,
And all your children live to praise
Your will fulfilled, your presence plain.”
Alan Gaunt in the second and third stanzas of “Great God, Your Spirit Like the Wind” (1991).
Special thanks to Nigel Grant who welcomed me to Australia, reads these daily posts, and alerted me to this hymn from church last Sunday. These lyrics are richly associated with Pentecost Sunday in recent church history because they speak of the work of the Spirit in our lives.
The Spirit changes everything. Our hearts of stone turn to hearts of flesh. Unrest and oppression turn to peace and justice. Greed is exchanged for generosity. The power of love shakes and wakes us. When love is expressed generously, nothing matches its beauty.
Those who sow sparingly are not the ones who sow only a few seeds, but rather they are the ones who don’t sow all the seed God has entrusted to them. The “wealth we keep” is what God sees. Those who sow generously are not the ones who sow lots of seed, but rather those who make sure they leave no seeds in the bag.
Avoid a “blighted harvest” while you still have time. Empty your bag to make God’s presence plain, and God will replenish your supply.