Heart Engraving
Jeremiah 17:1 KJV
(1) The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is graven upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars;
There is this perception held by those participating in certain objectionable activities that it is just something they are choosing to do, that it really has no repercussions on anyone else or themselves for that matter. This deception allows them to engage in service to a variety of passions ‘just for the fun of it’. After all, it’s just about having a little fun that won’t hurt anyone anyway.
Another activity is taking place, however, in conjunction with that chosen behavior. An inscription is being made on the heart, the very core that defines who that person is. What is being etched there is a proclamation or statement of the true belief and commitment of that heart. While it may be that there are other deep rooted beliefs, at the moment the heart’s conscience is given to a certain behavior, a pen is documenting the belief that has taken precedence for the moment. With consistently repeated actions, that inscription will come to define the character of the heart to the point of long lasting and irreversible commitment. Sin is not just a choice for pleasure, but a choice of belief in what will bring the most gratification. With time its claim on the heart creates the trap from which it is most difficult to gain freedom.
For this heart that has become covered in the pen’s inscriptions there is an opportunity to experience the impossible– for that heart to become wiped completely clean and set free to serve the only true God. With every choice to seek after and follow Him there will be a removal of that old inscription and old bondage. Where the heart had once been defined by gods of the world it had chosen, it will actually be transformed and empowered to do what is right. Though otherwise permanent and irreparable, those deep rooted definitions will lose their claims in the cleansing flood of Jesus’ blood. In worship of Him, a new and dominating script of redemption will replace and redefine the very nature of the heart.