And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture.” Luke 8:6
One of the characteristics of a good piece of cake is that it’s soft – and moist. Hard cake, anyone? I didn’t think so.
One of the characteristics of a good heart is that it’s soft – or, one might say, moist. The Bible speaks again and again of the dangers of a hard heart. In this parable the seed that was planted withered away, in part, I believe, because it had been planted in a heart that was not soft, not moist, but hard.
Unless the Lord softens a person’s heart, they will never receive the Gospel and bear fruit. Everything that matters happens, first, in the heart. A great prayer for unbelieving friends and family is that the Lord would soften their hearts – and open their hearts to the Gospel.
Do you know what hardens the heart? Many things, but two that come to mind immediately are disobedience and ingratitude. The more we ignore the clear commands of God and disobey Him, the harder our hearts become. With each transgression, our hearts grow a little harder. Likewise, when we ignore all that God has blessed us with and, instead, focus our attention on what we want, yet don’t have, our love for God is diminished, and our hearts grow cold and hard as we harbor disdain (and, perhaps, distrust) regarding God’s faithfulness toward us.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want a heart that is hard – ever. Let’s ask the Lord to keep our hearts soft, and moist – like good cake.
