Problem: A Hardened Heart. Jesus asks, “Do you have hard hearts? Yes, your hearts have grown hard. Why are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear?” He looks around in anger, deeply distressed at what He sees. “How foolish you are, and how slow you are to believe.”
Strip away all the context, and we arrive at a spiritual truth and the core reason many never experience the abundance of grace promised to believers. We can be saved, redeemed, brought into the King’s kingdom, and still refuse to dine at His table or feast on His goodness.
When we choose unbelief, our hearts gain a layer of callused skin that insulates us from the pain of hope and disappointment.
Contrast the cynical, callused attitude of those who doubt the words of Jesus, with how Jesus calls the simple, accepting, yes, even naive.
Solution: God’s Goodness. “Let them come to me! Do not stop any who wish to come to me. My Father’s kingdom belongs to those who receive it with joy, eagerness, and expectation of the good gifts of my Father. I tell you the truth: No one can receive my Father’s kingdom and its riches unless they come like a little child.”
Children believe. Children ask. Children expect good from the person who is kind, patient, loving, caring, helping—who binds their wounds and kisses their boo-boos.
Jesus warned his disciples that hardened hearts grow through persistent doubt and a refusal to accept the goodness of God seen in His Son.
Hardened hearts grow when we witness miracles and yet still do not believe. Such hearts are the soil trodden upon in the parable of the farmer: at the edge of the field, well worn with repeated use, on which God’s word cannot take root.
Jesus cautioned against living with little faith. He warned that those who only believe because they can see, hear, smell, or touch are shallow soil. Without such constant nourishment, the seed of God’s word cannot take root in hardened soil—in hearts that have chosen skepticism over expectation.
A cold comes, and we recover. That is God’s goodness. An infection hits and passes. This is our body, created by God, destroying sickness. Jesus says to us: Remember when you recovered and be thankful. Health and healing of any kind is God’s goodness. Provision, abundance—enough for each day—is God’s goodness. Employment is a gift. Many who cannot find work would love to have your job.
So how do we move from a hardened heart to one that receives the riches of God’s Kingdom? Jesus gives us five examples of how to receive our inheritance in Christ.
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7) Faith is active expectation. We receive because we believe enough to ask, to pursue, to knock persistently, hoping something might happen.
Then He goes deeper: “I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:24) We believe before we see, same as Jesus when He acted.
Think a problem is too large? Jesus responds, “All things are possible for one who believes.” (Mark 9:23) Faith unlocks infinite possibility. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” (John 20:29) The greatest riches belong to those who give thanks—because they’re sure the issue is resolved—before seeing.
And finally, we have Jesus looking us in the eye, saying: “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” (Matthew 21:22) His gaze meeting yours. His touch upon you. This is first century faith.
Jesus made clear that a hard heart is not something that happens to us; it is something we do to ourselves. Like Thomas, we demand proof before we will believe. We demand more evidence of His love, that He will care for us, before we will give thanks for what we have.
Jesus calls us to a new way, a new kingdom. One where we believe before we see. One where we trust God is good and wants His best for us. One where our hearts burn while He opens the Scriptures to us. This is a heart that expects to hear from Jesus and, like a child, be changed by His touch.
Faith, hope, and love. We know which is the greatest. Start there; start with God’s love for you. When you know He loves you just as He loves Jesus, your heart hopes. And when your heart hopes, faith is born.
This is the cure for the hard heart and the beginning of enjoying the riches in heaven that are ours in Christ.