Who Really Has the Hard Heart?

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.  15  And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

I was at a conference recently and was struck anew by a statement that I've heard before, but needed to hear again.  "What if the lack of seeing and experiencing the outpouring of the Spirit of God in our world has less to do with the hardness of the hearts of the lost (those who don't follow Christ) and more to do with the hardness and idolatry of Christians and Christian leaders?"
 

Some believers are quick to point the finger at the lost world and to accuse them of being hardened to the gospel.  They will say that the lack of people coming to Christ around them is solely the result of the dark and sinful world we live in and that if they would just repent and listen to God, they would be saved. 

But what if the people who really need to repent are the Christians?  What if God's people were the ones on their faces before the Lord begging him to forgive them of their sin and the hardness of their hearts?  What if brokenhearted believers starting pleading with God to work in their cities, neighborhoods, workplaces and schools?  Would we see more people coming to Christ? 

Before you are too quick to conclude that the lack of spiritual fruit around you is the result of the hardness of others, take a minute to evaluate your own walk and fellowship with the Lord.  Are you walking in sweet fellowship with the Lord?  Are you broken on a regular basis over the deceitfulness of your sin nature and how prone you are to wander from the Lord?  You might come to a different conclusion about the lost world around you.  Instead of being quick to get frustrated and even angry at the darkness you see in our world, ask God to break your heart for the sin that so many are in bondage to.  Instead of posting rants on Facebook or other social media about how the world is messed up, you might consider taking the latest news headlines before the throne of God with effectual and fervent prayer and leave the social media posts to someone else.