My life changed with replacement parts. 

I once walked up and down steps like a short-legged toddler, lumbering my right foot onto the step, then pulling the left foot onto the same step before advancing to the next one. But all that changed with one replacement part.

Although no one can see the titanium and plastic contraption that replaced my original knee, they might notice my improved gait. After physical therapy, healing, and time, I now take stairs more like an athlete than a toddler.

Now, evidence of my knee exchange abounds. I work out without hesitation. I’ve taken dance lessons. I’ve thrown away the analgesic creams and removed the economy pack of ibuprofen from my shopping list. I enjoyed a forty-two-mile four-day hiking tour in Vermont last year, so everything is different and better in all ways.

But enormous changes are not limited to injured joints.

And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.

Ezekiel 36:26 NLT

All the above should be true when we ask Jesus to replace our cold, stony hearts with new shiny ones. Everything should change. Our new hearts will be superior in all ways. People will see the evidence: language changes, countenances become more cheerful. Probably not a lot of witnesses were present when God replaced our hearts, but many should notice when we start stepping through life lighter and freer.

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT

My new knee is almost three years old. Surgery changed my life, and the new knee continues to become better and stronger. Some of us may have asked God to exchange our hearts years ago, but the evidence should still be obvious. Our hearts should grow more tender, kinder, loving, and responsive daily. Jesus in us should be obvious to everyone around us.

Do others, especially those closest to you, see the evidence of Jesus in you?

Father, thank You for the heart exchange You made in me. Continue to create a clean heart in me that shows others Your light and love. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Genre: Nonfiction

Copyright 2023: Replacement Parts: Cynthia Mendenhall: All Rights Reserved