Hardness of Heart
Posted by: Frank Walker LMFT | February 4, 2014
Hardness of Heart
It’s that time of year again. Hearts, flowers and chocolate candy are on the way. Valentine’s Day is here and love is in the air or is it?
Let’s face the facts that love ain’t all it’s cracked up to be. It never really seems to match what we have tucked away in our fantasies. Love songs are equally written about love found and love lost. Yes there is a lot of lost love out there.
Cupid got it right when he aimed his arrows at our hearts. Love is all about our hearts and our williness to be soft and flexible or hard and unmovable. Love is all about forgiveness and understanding. It is about giving without receiving, listening without telling and loving beyond our expectations.
So many husbands and wives have hardened their hearts toward those who they once truly loved. Divorce and separation are too easily part of our vocabulary.
Jesus stated that divorce was only permitted because of hardened hearts (Matt. 19:8). Not because of our inability to forgive or change but because of the rock hard covering we have encased our hearts in.
This hardness of heart is the same that Pharaoh experienced. That hardness blinded him even to the slaughter of his own first born son (Ex 9:12). This same hardness of heart made Jesus accuse his disciples of unbelief when they would not accept His resurrection (Mk. 16:14).
This hardness of our hearts has caused us to have generations of children raised by divorce parents. These children do not know the true Biblical love of a man for a woman.
What is the answer to hardened hearts? Faith. It is as easy as that and just as hard. We must truly believe that God is at work in our lives, yes even our love life. This almighty God is involved and concerned and moving in the life we have chosen through Him. With Him we live and love and in turn are loved. Too often we have lost our faith and hope and the greatest loss of all is our love (1 Corinthians 13:13).
Give your heart this Valentine’s Day a soft, open giving heart filled with love.
Frank Walker Marriage and Family Therapist intern
