The Heart
The Heart
“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”
Proverbs 4:23
This week we are on vacation in the mountains of North Carolina. Yesterday we were taking a drive on a small dirt road following a river. We decided to just drive on it and see how far we could go.
As my wife drove I got to look around, usually it’s the opposite. I drive, she looks around and I make her carsick.
We drove past this little opening on the side of the road with several rocks. I noticed a small pine tree growing out of this boulder and we continued on. A few minutes later I asked her to back up.
We backed up to it so I could take some pictures and just marvel at what was being done. There was actually a pine tree growing in this rock. A massive rock. The tree was only about six inches tall but it already had the appearance of a pine tree, with two or three small branches.
I was amazed. At six inches, coming out of winter, it was growing!
A seed in the Bible is many things; the word of God, Jesus Christ, the church, just to name a few. To me, the seed in this devotion is our faith in Jesus Christ. The rock here is our heart. In the Bible, the heart is the heart.
You see, in order for Jesus Christ to be received it has to be received in the heart and with the right conditions. Even a hardened heart can receive Jesus Christ.
A couple of years ago I turned my life over to Jesus Christ. I was broken. Lost. Very lost. And at one of the lowest points in my life. At that time I turned my life over to Jesus Christ. I put my faith and trust in Him as my savior. A seed had been planted years ago and now it was time for it to grow.
Last year I told my brother “thank you” and he said “for what”?
I thanked him because for nearly two decades he had been presenting the gospel of Jesus Christ and trying to explain eternal salvation to me. When I thanked him he told me I shouldn’t thank him because he didn’t do anything.
He told me it was my heart that received Jesus Christ and that it was nothing he did. He said all he did was plant the seed and pray constantly that I would turn my life to Christ.
This rock I was looking at was my heart. The seed represented my faith in Jesus Christ.
This rock was my hardened heart. It had been hardened for years. I mean I could love with a hardened heart - but in its former state - it was not a good heart. It was shallow, selfish, narrow-minded and foolish. I thought more of myself than anyone else - my only saving trait at the time is that I still cared about people, but who knows how long that would’ve lasted. And even then there are some that would dispute that.
My brother planted the seed about Jesus Christ in me about twenty five years ago. I remember the conversation - albeit I was not receptive, he tried. He told me his testimony of salvation and I’m sure he prayed for me continually - but the conditions just weren’t right for the seed to grow.
You see the seed is important, but the heart is just as equally as important. Without the heart, the seed will never grow.
Today I’m focusing on the heart.
You see in order for the seed to grow, many conditions in the heart must be met.
The place where the see lies has to receive the seed - first and foremost. And once the seed resides there it has to be cared for under the right conditions. If any of the conditions aren’t right - the seed won’t grow.
There is no telling how the pine tree nut seed ended up in the rock. An animal could have eaten a pine cone and it fell there. A bird could’ve sat there and excreted it into a crack in the rock. Wind could’ve blown it there. We can only guess how it got there.
What we know for certain is a seed was in the rock. No animals had eaten it. No insects carried it off. It didn’t rot. The perfect amount of rain, sunlight and pollen made it grow.
The heart has to be ready to receive the seed. There is no other way. If your heart isn’t ready and you make a proclamation of faith in Jesus Christ - you will only doubt it later in life or not clearly understand it.
So many times people don’t understand salvation or having faith in Jesus Christ. They think if they just agree upon it, listen to the words and say a prayer, they are saved. Most people couldn’t even tell you what it means. I was one of them.
Your heart has to know what it is receiving. This means the knowledge from your head has be understood. And then that knowledge has to reach the emotion and feelings in your heart.
Your heart has to accept your faith in Jesus Christ. I can’t receive Him for you. You have to have the right conditions; usually understanding, acceptance, humility and a desire.
A hardened heart can receive the seed but usually only when there is a crack - or it’s broken, and this usually won’t last long. A hardened heart is no place for a seed to grow.
The heart has to continue to provide the right environment for the seed. It also has to protect the seed. If your heart doesn’t feed your faith in Jesus Christ it can weaken and get destroyed. The things of this world can destroy your faith.
Satan and the world can destroy your relationship with Jesus Christ. It takes work to have the seed grow into a strong tree.
Letting in things of this world; money, lust, vanity and pride are a few that can weaken your heart. You must be able to defend against these things.
Growing a relationship with Christ in your life will take hard work, stamina, dedication, sacrifice and commitment. And these are only a few. These things will grow your heart and your faith.
There will constantly be things in your life that will attempt to pull Jesus Christ from your heart. You will go through trials and tribulations that will test your resolve. There will be temptations that will test your dedication. And there will be your own selfish desires and wants that pull you from Him.
You will have to protect the seed constantly while it grows in the heart. And once the seed becomes a strong tree it will require maintenance for its continued growth.
Once the seed is mature it will produce more seeds and the process can repeat itself over and over.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
John 1:1
“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”
Psalms 51:10
11 “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
12 Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.
14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.
15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.”
Luke 8:11-15