“So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.”
James 1:21-22 NLT
Jesus taught us about sowing seeds of the gospel by demonstrating that there were different kinds of soil we would be planting in. Some soil was hard and produced no harvest while other soil was softer and did produce a harvest. The soil represented the hearts of men and the hardness of their hearts to God’s message of salvation.
There are several factors that cause hardness of a person’s heart. They include such things as bitterness, fear, pride and unforgiveness. A hard heart is like hard soil, it will not receive the good News of Jesus Christ for it will not allow the truth to penetrate and be received. Hardness of one’s heart is a dangerous condition for it prevents God’s word from accomplishing the act of salvation and redemption needed. Without such redemption, that heart is lost eternally!
There is hope here in the word for hardness of the heart. We have to begin to throw off the things that burden us, weighing us down and causing our refusal of God’s Word. As we seek to put away such sin in our lives thru God’s grace and mercy, we will find ourselves accepting his word and humbling ourselves before our creator. This is a difficult but critical decision for people to make as their very souls are at stake. I believe we believers have a role to play in this process. We must live out God’s goodness before men to demonstrate not only the change needed but the power of such repentance in our lives for good! We should be that kingdom light that helps point the way to redemption.
Truly love can melt the hard hearts of man but it must be applied at times over and over again. Do not give up on someone who has rejected God’s Word, love them and pray for them always!
In Christ
RJ