Fred DeNegri, a Florida man who cracked open an ice-cold can of Pepsi, found dismembered remains of a frog inside. Fred was taken aback by the “disgusting blob” floating in the bottom of the can.
Can you imagine the shock! This was not what Fred expected to find, opening a can that you thought contained good, sweet, smooth, lovely, refreshing, cool, clean cola, and swallowing something as filthy and unpleasant as frog's legs and who knows what else.
It's what's on the inside that counts
Let me ask you, if you opened up your heart, what would you expect to find?
You would expect to find things that are good, sweet, and lovely, right?
But Jesus says that if you opened up your heart (and mine) you would find evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly (Mark 7:20-22).
This doesn't mean we've done all these things, but we all have evil thoughts inside us. But is it going a bit far to say we have 'murder' in our hearts? Let's look at what Jesus said:
You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. —Matthew 5:21
God cares as much about our thoughts and attitudes as our actions. It's a sobering thought. But fortunately, God is the best open-heart surgeon ever!
Get a new heart
Many, many years ago, God promised;
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.—Ezekiel 36:26-27.
This is what Jesus Christ came to do. By living the perfect life and dying the perfect sacrificial death, Jesus makes a way for sinful-hearted people like you and me to have a fresh start, a new beginning, with a new heart and new desire to love and serve God.
One day, God will examine your heart. What will he find? A filthy, unpleasant and disgusting heart polluted by sin? Or a new, good, sweet, lovely heart that comes through faith in Christ Jesus?
Put your faith in Jesus Christ now and let Him refresh everything in your life, from the inside out.