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Up to 50,000 people need heart transplants, yet only 5,000 get them each year. As you would expect, there are very strict requirements for those who get them. Only if a person’s birth heart gives out, with no hope of living apart from a new heart, can that person become a transplant candidate. The need for a new heart illustrates the biblical truth that we all need new spiritual hearts. The Bible teaches that without one we cannot live to please God or do our best toward others. The Bible teaches we are all born with a heart problem, one that inclines toward doing evil. It began with our fore-parents, Adam and Eve. Their decision to live apart from God resulted in all humanity spiraling away from God and His moral standards. Later, God gave ancient Israel laws to curb human depravity, but they proved conclusively that we humans just cannot live up to God’s moral requirements. And even people who try to live by God’s laws experience an internal tug of war. The Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 7 describes it as “when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong.” Our Lord told us that all evil action originates in a sinful heart; so only a new heart—a transplant—can modify our behavior. Thankfully, a heart transplant takes place when we sincerely invite Jesus Christ to enter and live inside of us.
