Thorny Soil

 

     The Bible tends to hit us right in the heart and forces us to look at our lives and our motives. The parable of the farmer continues today. For some, we have seen, the seed of the word is taken away as soon as it is heard, just as seed is scattered in the wind. For others, the soil of our hearts is too shallow and when trouble comes, there is no root to sustain us. Today, the seeds have germinated. The seed has sprouted, but the environment around the plant keeps it from bearing fruit. Here is Jesus:

Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain.  Mark 4:7

     Again, Jesus explains:

Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word, but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Mark 4:18-19

     I want my desires to be His. His ways are always higher and more beneficial than mine. He fills us with what is excellent and lovely and pure. What are the thorns that stick to you like glue? Are you filled with worries, unable to trust God? Is your mind occupied with striving for more, rather than being content right now? Maybe it is the pleasures and lusts of life that take God away from being first. Let’s pull them out one by one, painful as it may seem at the time to allow the word to grow in abundance. Those weeds of the world will no longer zap and choke all of our time and energy and God will lead us in the way we should go, in true freedom.

Dear Jesus,

Take away our worries, our constant striving, our priorities that take us away from You and Your word. The Bible gives life, the abundant and fruitful life. Bury the seeds deep, cultivate the soil of our hearts and help us to remove the thorns. We want to bear fruit for You.

Amen