“Collaborative Effort”

Ezekiel 18: 31: “Cast away from you all your transgressions which you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit!” Here’s where it gets a little confusing: The Lord has already said that He cast away all our sins (Psalm 103: 12), and promised to give us a new heart and a new spirit (Ezekiel 36: 25-26). Now He wants us to go and do it ourselves. Is that even possible? It’s rather like 1 John 3: 3, where it says that we purify ourselves, when we know that only the blood of Jesus can do that. So what’s the deal? Like anything else from God, He is the source, the only source- but He expects a little cooperation from us. Can He do it Himself? Of course He can. But for our sake, he won’t.