Can you fix your own heart?
Yes, you can…
Engineer Tal Golesworthy has managed complex projects all his life and is used to solving problems. And he has lived with a rare life-threatening heart condition - Marfan syndrome - for the last 30 years.
A keen skier, the 57-year old from Gloucester, UK, was not impressed with the various options on offer from doctors. They would have left him unable to enjoy the life he wanted to the full.
So he started work to devise a solution to fix his own heart.
He came up with a new idea, which involved wrapping his damaged aorta with tape - much like you would put duct tape around a hosepipe that was bulging through too much pressure. He was convinced it would work - but convincing doctors was harder work.
His idea eventually intrigued two professors of surgery, who worked on the idea for three years, before Mr Golesworthy was finally wheeled into the operating theatre. The operation and the technique proved successful, and it is now being offered to others who suffer from the syndrome, according to a report on the BBC News website.
It’s the kind of story that gives us a warm feeling. One man’s ingenuity overcomes the odds. It’s an instinct many of us share when faced with a problem. If I have a problem, then surely there must be some way I can fix it. Don’t take “no” for an answer - if you work at it, then you’ll find a way through. Don’t assume that “experts” know everything. It’s a great advice for much of life.
…And No, You Can't
But of course it’s disastrous when it comes to our spiritual lives.
Because no amount of hard work, self control, discipline, philosophy, rituals, spiritual experiences and ceremonies can every fix the human heart. Our hearts are not just broken. They are turned. Turned from being filled with praise and worship for the Living God to manufacturing evil. Turned into idol factories.
The Lord Jesus gave a, literally, damning diagnosis of our hearts in Mark 7 v 20-23:
“What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”
Our DIY attempts to fix it are simply a cover attempt that does nothing to fix them.
What we need is a completely new heart - and that can only be supplied by God’s grace.
Tim Thornborough is the founder and Publishing Director of The Good Book Company. He is series editor of Explore Bible-reading notes, the author of The Very Best Bible Stories series, and has contributed to many books published by The Good Book Company and others. Tim is married to Kathy, and they have three adult daughters.
