The Hebrew writer warns: "Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God." (Heb. 3:12) The words "fall away" literally mean "to stand off from". In warning about our hearts turning to evil and unbelieving, that individual "stands off" from God. The good and believing heart is explained in this way: "Therefore, putting aside all malice, and all deceit, and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord." (I Pet. 2:1-3)
An evil and unbelieving heart backs off and the things of God are no longer a priority in life. In fact, an evil and unbelieving heart is tied directly to the preaching/teaching of God's word (Heb. 4:2). There has to be within each of us the coming together of faith in God's word when His word is spoken. That's what drives one forward. God speaks and how your respond reveals much about yourself. When the church is disrupted by disputes, what is taking hold in the hearts? When homes are in disarray, what is taking hold in the hearts? A good and believing heart takes in the things of God, longs for the things of God and we are willing to let go of anything that would promote decay and indifference.
God wants our faith to grow. God wants us with Him. It is up to us to make certain, to take care of our hearts that we don't become dull and insensitive toward the things of God. We must make certain that we aren't allowing things to crowd out the Lord by making choices of pleasures or our wants over His. What responses are you making daily? Are they God-driven with a heart of trusting faith or do we make choices that take us away into other things resulting in indifference and apathy ? We are partakers of Christ and that will continue unless we forget and stop holding fast from the beginning to the end.
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