Creating a Clean Heart
I was amazed to learn that the first artificial heart was constructed in 1937 in Russia by Soviet scientist Vladimir Demikov and was placed in a dog. The dog survived two hours after surgery. For no other reason except to promote Cleveland, I mention pioneering work on various phases of the artificial heart was done in the 1950’s at the Cleveland Clinic by Willem Johan Kolff, who would eventually work with Robert Jarvik on his famous artificial heart.
Because of the current limits in technology, artificial hearts are intended for short-term transitional care. Sometimes they are used only when a person is going through invasive cardiac surgery to keep blood flowing until the heart is either repaired or replaced with a human heart. Sometimes a person is given an artificial heart as a longer term treatment until a transplant heart becomes available. More than 1500 people have received artificial hearts; to date, one person has survived over four years with an artificial heart. But, clearly, the successes of the 120-minute extended lifespan of the dog and the four years for that one human are not permanent solutions for an impaired heart.
It is true that people who receive a human transplanted donor heart do much better than with an artificial heart. The average extended lifespan is almost a decade. But, of course, they’re getting a used heart.
Imagine – if needed – God would create a brand-new, organic heart for people who have a failing heart! And imagine, if it were from their own DNA, the hearts wouldn’t suffer rejection, which is one of the problems with transplanted hearts – they just don’t want to be accepted by the body.
Most people are familiar with King David who was a man “after the Lord’s heart.” However, although he had received the miraculous blessing of the Holy Spirit, David would sometimes resist or even reject the power of the Holy Spirit given to invigorate his heart of faith.
David’s tragic sin of adultery, followed by deception and murder, is a story of resistance and then rejection. Luther believed that David lost the Holy Spirit during this interim time of his sojourn into unresisted sin. Apparently, David also believed this. After living in resistance for several weeks, David was faced with the truth when God sent the prophet Nathan to confront him. The truth broke David’s heart; thank the Lord it was a temporary heart of unfaithfulness. Finally, David realized that no man-made heart could replace the divinely inspired one he had. David could not manufacture enough self-righteousness to change the nature of his dead heart. This would take a new creation – another work of God, like at the beginning.
In David’s epic Psalm he asks, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10). The beauty of the Christian faith is that God creates our cleanliness. What’s more, He doesn’t just wash us up or give us a temporary fix. He gives us “salvation,” the very same heart filled with God’s renewing eternal presence which will be pulled from the grave at the Resurrection – for its final renewal. Realizing that, David would add “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit.” (Psalm 51:12)
Many Lutherans know these words by heart because we sing them as we celebrate communion with God in the sacrament. When the gift of faith comes to us, we are as Jesus said “born again,” or as we could also appropriately translate the phrase, “born from above.” (John 3:3)
Prayer: Lord God, break my heart when I sin, and restore the joy of Thy salvation through Christ. In Your Son’s Name, Amen.
