"Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul" (Jer. 32:41).

     All healthy trees have what is called "heartwood" in the center of their trunks.  It is made by the mature xylem (a thin layer of cells adjacent to the woody part of the stem or trunk).  The heartwood maintains the plant's structural strength and fights the invasion of rot infections.  Heartwood is usually darker than sapwood (the wood that is just under the bark) and forms the annual rings.

    At times we find that nature doesn't heal itself, though, and trunks of trees are found in the woods completely hollow.  

     And so it is with all mankind.  We will be completely hollow (without judgment, mercy, faith and love) if we die without seeking the Master Gardener to cure the disease that is rotting out our insides; the disease that is called sin (Matt. 23:23, Lk. 11:42).

     The Lord reveals His heartwood to us in Jeremiah 32:41.  If we want to have this true heartwood, we must stop mistrusting the character of God and rest in His revealed grace in Christ (Heb. 10:22).  God rests in His Son, Jesus Christ, and we must also. He is the manifestation of His forgiving love (Isa. 11:10, Matt. 11:28).  There wasn't any rest for God after His law was broken, so He sent His Son to do the work of restoring the whole creation so that He could once again rest, and be glorified in His work. 

     The Lord will always show mercy to us because His heart yearns for us even in our sinning (Jer. 31:20, Heb. 4:16).  But thank God, sin shall not have dominion over us if we are under grace (Rom. 6:14).  We will never have "heartwood" (judgment, mercy, faith, and love) in the center of our being if we don't believe God and His promises. We will be found hollow as the Pharisees. 

     A gospel that only brings us a hope of pardon - a future reconciliation with God - will never deliver us from the evil in our hearts.

     There is only one way to cure ourselves of the evil in our hearts towards God; it is by continually looking to His heartwood to receive mercy (Jude 20-21).  

     Let us ask our Master Gardener to enable us to do it.  This hope is a sure hope (Isa. 28:16, Acts 13:34-39).  He says, "Everyone who believes is justified from all things." Glory be to His name forever!!