But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop. Luke 8:15
It’s interesting to note that it’s different things that keep people from continuing with God. For some people, it’s the good times, “riches and pleasures” (verse 14). For some it’s the hard times, “in the time of testing they fall away”(verse 13). Others simply allow the opportunity to pursue a relationship with God to be taken away (verse 12).
What is needed is a “noble and good heart” (verse 15). Other versions describe these people as “honest, good-hearted people”. People with honest or noble hearts will thoughtfully consider the claims of Christ. C.S. Lewis famously points out that when we consider his claims we have three options: Jesus was either a liar, a lunatic or Lord.
C.S. Lewis writes, “A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on the level with a man who says he is a poached egg—or he would be the devil of hell. You must take your choice. Either this was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us.”
People with noble and good hearts are honest enough to consider Jesus’ claims and having considered them, they will often come to believe and grow in faith, persevering through good times and bad.
