A few seconds after this clip, the Grinch realizes he's crying and says, "What's happening to me? I'm all toasty inside. And I'm leaking." He then turns to Max, his faithful dog and welcomes him into a hug. But, as soon as the dog begins showing his affection by licking the Grinch he responds by saying, "Knock it off. Beat it! Get out of here! One step at a time." This is of course a normal reaction to being licked by a dog! But it made me think about how often we know that our hearts have been changed by God--we may even feel toasty inside--yet when his affection interrupts our expectations, we often respond with saying "Knock it off! Beat it! One step at a time."
Christmas is the time when we remember Jesus' advent. God dwelling with us and the fulfillment of His promises. And one of the best promises is that God will remove our hearts of stone and give us hearts of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26). We will be given a new identity and will be in harmony with our Creator, instead of at war with Him. This is good news, and even though the reality is that growing into our new hearts is a processes that involves pain and tears, the truth that God keeps his promises reminds us of a new promise: He will wipe away all our tears and there will no longer be any grief or heartache or sorrow (Revelation 21:4).
My prayer this Christmas is that my heart would be open to God's changing it and that I would be able to receive His changes for my life with thanksgiving and joy, instead of fear and avoidance. May God grant you the same!