Mark 3:5 (NKJ), “And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts…”
 

In the book of Zechariah, we are told the Israelites of old had hearts of flint towards the Lord. In 2 Chronicles 36:16, it says they mocked God’s messengers, despised His Words, and scoffed at His prophets, until His wrath arose and there was no remedy. In the Book of Hebrews, we are told a whole generation of Israelites never entered the promised land because they refused to mix faith with the promises God gave them. What does this have to do with us? The principle holds true for everyone. We are never going to inherit and experience the promises of God being manifest in our lives without faith, but faith in itself, is not sufficient. According to 1 Corinthians 13, faith works by love. Only a heart that is tender and sensitive towards God, His Word, His ministers, and His children, will live in the full benefits faith can bring. In fact, when our hearts are full of love for the Lord, they will love everything He cares for. In Mark 3, Jesus wanted the Pharisees to have a glimpse of the hardened condition of their hearts towards God. They knew the scriptures well, they were taught everything concerning who Jesus was, and yet, even when He stood in front of them, performing the very things the scriptures said He would do, their hardened hearts blinded them from seeing who He was. When we act like them by being critical towards ministers of the Gospel, or holding onto our religious or traditional beliefs that are contrary to what God’s Word says, or being more concerned about ourselves than those around us - we reveal the true condition of our hearts. It’s time to take stock of our heart condition. In Revelation 2, Jesus warns the church that our commitment to truth is good, however, if it is not motivated by love, even our obedience is not pleasing to God. Today, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal where you have hardened your heart towards Him, then repent, and open your heart to receive a fresh infilling of His love. This is how we are able to love Him and those He loves sufficiently - because our once hardened hearts have become saturated with His love.