The Softened Heart
Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.
Proverbs 4:23 says to keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issuings of life. Jesus, when confronting Peter after His resurrection, after that Peter had denied Him, asked Him three times, “Do you love me?” (John 21:15-17). Three times, He asked Peter if he loved Him the way He himself loved Peter, unconditional, undemanding love.