When you truly love someone, you find yourself developing a love for the things that he or she loves. It should be no different concerning our relationship with the Lord. The more love we have for the Lord, the more love we display for the things dearest to Him. This means that the closer we draw to Him, the more we will love things that He loves, like judgment (Isaiah 61:8) and righteousness (Psalm 11:7), the lost (John 3:16) and the saved (1 John 4:21), peace and truth (Zechariah 8:19). We will also have a greater love for the Jewish people (Zechariah 2:8). Perhaps a more accurate gauge by which to judge your love for the Lord is to gauge your love for the things which He loves.
The Pharisees repeatedly sought to trap the Lord by attempting to draw Him into controversial discussions. Today's passage demonstrates much more than a simple response to entangling questioning. Interestingly, we learn from the Lord's response that God's law made allowances for man based upon God's understanding of man’s nature. In other words, the Lord Jesus indicated that God gave some of the law simply because of the hardness of man’s heart! Unfortunately, these laws are used today by men to justify decisions contrary to God's will thus further validating the hard-hearted nature of man. In either case, God's ways are never thwarted. God's laws allow even man's wickedness to bring about God's justice and His laws further expose the inherent shortcomings of man. God graciously gave some of His laws to make allowances for man's weaknesses caused by sin.
The Bible admonishes believers to be stedfast and unmoveable (1 Corinthians 15:58). We are to be grounded and settled (Colossians 1:23) in the faith—much like a tree planted by the rivers of waters (Psalm 1:3). Yet, today's passage points to the dangers of a hardened heart set in rebellion. It is likened to a stone and a millstone. We should remain stedfast in our commitment to serve the Lord, yet our hearts should remain tender and pliable to Him and His will. A stony heart hinders the seed of God’s word from taking root (Matthew 13:5-6). This hardness hinders the possibility of spiritual fruit from taking root and maturing. A soft heart and a stedfast walk exhibit the godly balance that God desires for each of us.
