Hard Heart

Mark 4:15

      Have you ever met anyone who seems really cold and distant, untouched by emotions, both positive and negative emotions? They seem to float through social situation without ever really being touched by other’s stories and experiences.

      They might be the kind of person who never takes any risks. They live life on the “safe side.” They have “learned that lesson” and won’t be like that again. They like things to feel comfortable, so they don’t do things outside their comfort zone.

      In this parable of the soils, Jesus points out that the condition of the soil determines the growth of the seed. Today we look at what happens when God’s Word is heard by someone whose heart is hard. This is the person represented by the path, verses 4 & 15. The characteristic of this soil is that is has been compacted by walking. Life has impacted it in a way that seed can’t penetrate. But even more important the seed remains on the outside and is visible. Unlike the rocky soil, the seed can’t be hidden. The seed becomes easy pickings for the birds.

      As I am writing this, I am watching a very small bird attack and eat a small lizard. The lizard is now out in the open with no place to hide. The bird just keeps jumping around and attacking from behind. The lizard doesn’t stand a chance. Even with his mouth wide open, his neck puffed out with its bright colors, the bird just keeps spinning around to his blind side and eating pieces of him.

      The path has received no preparation for reception of the seed. It wasn’t tilled or plowed. There has been no effort to break up the hardness. It takes effort to break through someone’s hard heart. But unlike soil, it often takes hardship and kindness to work through that hardness. Often bitterness and anger take over

      People with hard hearts are often passive in their spiritual growth. If something comes their direction, and is easy, they will accept it. If it isn’t on the path, in their immediate vicinity, they won’t put forth the effort. They are often shortsighted in life’s pursuits. They are like Lot’s sons-in-law who though Lot was joking when he told them to leave because judgment was coming.

      People with hard hearts are often oblivious to the reality of God working right under their noses. They just can’t see God’s reality. They could bump into God on the street and never know it. They are out of touch with what others are going through because all they see is their limited world.

      Hearts like this take careful plowing, fertilization, repeated turning over in order to get through the hard layers. Often very difficult things will happen in their lives, and in those moments, they need to reach out, which is the opposite of their usual pattern. They have to admit their hardness and allow the Spirit to soften them. Often the Spirit uses us, the kindness of others, to help prepare them for the seed, God’s Word.

      If that doesn’t happen, Satan will surely take the seed away. It is easy pickings. It is as though the Word was never even present. The seed leaves no mark on the path.

Kingpin

Mark 3:27

      We have learned from the movies that the person with the biggest guns wins the gunfight. If it is hand to hand combat, the person who is the fastest with the best moves wins. We also learn that winning and losing fights depends on the plot line, much more than reality! How the enemy machine guns never hit our hero and how a rock thrown blindly around a corner can kill multiple people. Or that the villains in car accidents get killed and heroes survive.

      Jesus work and reputation have been attacked by His family and by the religious establishment. Both have heard about what Jesus was doing and came to a conclusion based on what they knew. And since they were missing some essential facts, they drew the wrong conclusions.

      The religious leaders have charged that Jesus was under the power of Satan and it was Satan’s power that enabled Him to be able to cast out demonic entities. Jesus showed that this just can’t happen.

      The religious leaders’ second charge against Jesus is that He is using someone else’s power to cast out demons, not His own. This is where the use of the word picture of the strong man comes into play. Jesus is talking about home invasion. You can’t break into the strong man’s house and get away with it. Their strength will overcome any intruder.

      If you think about the houses of drug dealers, at least the ones portrayed on TV and in the movies, they have multiple layers of security. They have security cameras and alarms, and big, muscular, gun-wielding thugs protecting them. At the low end houses, they have booby traps and explosives rigged to protect themselves. They also have escape routes planned and practiced. They usually also have some people with guns.

      In order to penetrate these houses you have to come with more power and strength. You have to bring battering rams, snipers, flash-bang grenades, insertion teams, body armor, armor protected vehicles, high-tech listening devices, and overwhelming manpower. You can’t beat a strong man unless you are stronger.

      That is Jesus’ point. Satan is the strong man. If Satan is being defeated, then someone stronger than him has arrived. Jesus is stronger than Satan, that is why He is able to defeat him and cast out demons.

      No matter what battle you are facing, Jesus is more powerful than the battle. Invite Him to be with you in that battle. Or get out of the battle and be with Him.

Pushed Out

Mark 1:12-13

      What is the greatest temptation that you face on an ongoing basis? You know, the thing you either struggle to not do and are unsuccessful, or struggle to do but often don’t complete. Perhaps it was one of your yearly New Year’s resolutions. It might be the extra sweet in the candy bowl, or the extra clicks on the computer that take you away from other important things. We all have temptations and all of us face a unique cocktail of temptation. There are often very familiar elements to all our temptations, many facing some of the same temptations, but the mix of pull that each one has on our life and spirit bears our unique spiritual fingerprint. My mix is different than yours. And so was Jesus’.

      In typical Mark fashion, Mark covers in two verses what Matthew and Luke each cover in a dozen or so. I love the way Mark jumps right from Jesus’ official introduction to the world, ripping open of the barrier between Heaven and Earth, and God’s voice announcing His identity as the Messiah, the Promised One, God in the flesh right to Jesus being driven out into the wilderness and His official temptation event.

      Notice that it is the Spirit of God who drives Jesus out into the wilderness. Jesus goes willingly, but this word translated “sent” in the NIV is the same word Mark uses to speak of the expulsion of demons. This is no gentle invitation; this is necessity. Jesus must go out into the wilderness. He must face Satan and the temptations. He must come out victorious.

      Jesus is in the wilderness, the traditional place where evil powers were thought to hang out, for forty days being tempted repeatedly. There are more than the three specific temptations mentioned in Matthew and Luke. Jesus is tempted throughout the forty days. We don’t have details, but the tense of the verb indicates that there was continual temptation over this forty day period.

      Jesus faces Satan, the demon in charge of all the other demons in this temptation. We might call him the world heavy weight champion tempter of the universe. This is no walk in the park. This is an all out spiritual war. Satan wants to win. In fact, he must win in order to foil God’s plan for the redemption of humanity. We don’t get any details of this battle. We only get two rather curious facts. Wild animals were there with Jesus, and angels served Him. The mention of the animals gives a detail about the wilderness experience, the remoteness and solitude of the place Jesus was when He faced these temptations. He was way out there, the original Survivor! The only help He did receive, and we don’t know what they did provide, came from angels. They gave Him what He needed. This reminds us of Elijah’s wilderness stay in 1 Kings 19:5-8, where Elijah’s needs were met supernaturally.

      There are things that are compulsory in the Christian’s life. Some things we must do. There are some optional things, like singing hymns, but there are some must do’s, like fleeing immorality and seeking holiness. When was the last time you felt compelled to do something by the Spirit? Have you ever felt such a strong stirring that you knew it was the LORD? My prayer for you is that you would be open to this kind of powerful invitation to be involved in God’s work.