Mark4:13-20...Be Aware of the Thorns...

Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? The farmer sows the word.Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 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.  Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”

We have heard this parable many times and the message is true. I wonder how often we have paid attention to the seeds that were strewn among the thorns? Thorns and weeds did not appear in God’s perfect creation. In the garden of Eden they did not exist until after the fall of man. In this parable they are used as an example of the troubles of life, the worries of the day and the deceitfulness of wealth. These are problems that we see and experience today. These problems of the world choke out the Word of God and cause us trouble. We need to be steadfast in our faith and strong in our convictions so that the world of thorns does not creep in and steal our joy. Read the word and pray for understanding and wisdom.

Blessings,

Alan B Conner