The parable of the sower has some interesting applications in regards to marriage. The first two soils of marriage, the hardened soil caused by the trampling of our hearts and the soil that represents the soul that gladly receives the Word and sees growth but once it incurs a little affliction for the Word’s sake it fails to endure. I just noticed this morning an example of this in Mark 10:17-23, it says “there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” Jesus said, “One thing thou lackest; go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow me.”

The One Thing We Lack in Marriage is What Offends

This young man gladly received the first word Jesus told him about the commandments because he thought he had this base covered. It was the second Word Jesus spoke which offended him. The Bible says, “He was sad at that saying, and went away grieved; for he had great possessions.” We get hard hearts when we hear a Word from God and lack humility of mind. We lack humility of mind when we think we know all the facts and build strongholds of wrong beliefs. We are so highly invested in these wrong beliefs that it is hard for us to admit we could be wrong, we could be seeing life through a distorted lens, we harden our hearts to any word that would tear them down because of our pride that says we must be right.

What Shall We Do To Have A Great Marriage?

I think that we as married couples can come to the Lord and say, “Good Master, what shall we do to have a great marriage?” it is the couple who has a humble mind, ears to hear and eyes to see that can begin to “Stand Forth,” (See Mark 3:3) and arise out of the midst of their failures so their love can grow and abound in knowledge. The partners who say, “I have done everything already?” will hear the Good Lord say “This one thing thou lackest?” it will be a word that offends them. How you respond to this Word from God will determine what soil your marriage will be like. Satan will either come and snatch away the seed from the hardened soil, or you will gladly receive the first word and grow a little in your marriage until a brutal fact from God comes and offends you, like: “give up your expectations, give unconditional love, or unconditional respect out of love for Me, bless your husband or wife when you feel cursed, come, take up the cross, and follow me.” And as the rich young ruler, you can be sad at that saying, and go away grieved—or you can believe with wives and husbands it is impossible, but not with God; for “with God all things are possible.” (Mark 10:27) This is our call, if we receive the Word with meekness then God will make our marriages fruitful and in this is our Father much glorified.

Dealing With Hardness of Heart

I urge you therefore Noble Partners, saints in Christ Jesus, blameless and unreproveable in His sight, to continue as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to Him. Rejoice in the reality that we can do nothing apart from Him but all that He does in and through us will last for eternity. The power comes not from perfection but through restoration. Mercy and truth will restore us. I have had to ask for mercy many times in this past week when I have realized the truth of the situation and I am always amazed at the power of God to restore me to right relationship with Him and all men.

In my quiet time with the Lord I have been reading the book of Mark, I am amazed at how many times Jesus talks about the hardness of heart.

Mark 6:52 – “For they considered not [the miracle] of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.”

Mark 7:6 – “He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with [their] lips, but their heart is far from me.”

bq. Mark 7:21 – “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders…”

Mark 8:17 – “And when Jesus knew [it], he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened?”

Mark 10:5 – “And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.”

Mark 16:14 – “Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.”

Receive With Meekness the Implanted Word

Let’s take a look at what happens when we receive the implanted Word with humility of mind and meekness of will. We become like the soil that bears 30, 60, 100 fold fruit. When we receive the rhemas of God, the Word will bear fruit. Satan will do everything he can to keep you from the rhemas, he will steal what you have if it is not used or if it falls on hardened hearts. He will steal it if you get offended by it, he wills steal it by distracting you with the false pathways of success in position, possessions and pleasures. The only time you will see fruit is when we receive it with an open heart. Miracles begin to happen when we believe with our heart and confess with our mouth the blessings of God’s Word.

Mark 11:23 – “For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.”

bq. Mark 12:30 – “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this [is] the first commandment.”

Posted by Chris Hogan on Thursday, March 17, 2005 at 19:27 PM