The Parable of the Sower

In Mark chapter 4, you can read the parable of the sower.  After Jesus tells this parable, he explains it to His disciples.  Recently when I read this, verses 18 and 19 stood out to me.  I would like to think that my attitude of God's Word, my obedience to it, and its working in my life is like the good soil, but more often than not, I must admit that I succumb to the thorns.

18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.

These are some of the notes I made as I pondered this passage.

Things that can choke out the Word of God in my life: 

• The cares of the world--running our household,

homeschooling, training for a marathon, cooking, cleaning, running errands, Christmas shopping. All those things that take up so much of my time.

• The deceitfulness of riches--thinking that things will make me happy. I don't think I struggle with this as much, but all of my needs and wants are more than provided for. What would my attitude be if I lived in poverty in a foreign county? What if Jimmy lost his job and we had to seriously downsize?  I need to be a good steward of God's physical blessings in my life, and make sure that my happiness is not tied up in things, the pursuit of them, the maintaining of them.

• The desire for other things--other things could be praise,

worldly recognition. An other thing could be anything that is distracting my service to God. Even the desire for appreciation and praise from family members. Validation for my hard work. I should be content to serve God quietly with my life, without any affirmation from man. Just do the right things because they are right. Not to seek a reward.

• All of these things can choke the Word. Take my time away from reading and studying my Bible, praying. God's Word will prove unfruitful in my life if I don't make it my top priority to read it, study it, apply it, live it. If I am going to live a life in faithful service to the Lord, then that must be at the forefront of my mind. It should affect every decision and choice I make. My attitude towards my daily life and my interactions with my family and others will be influenced by my conscious attention to serving God. Living a life that is pleasing to Him.

• I must be aware of the thorns of this life. Even if they don't look like thorns, they can very quickly choke out God's Word and it's fruitfulness in my life if I am not vigilant. I am going to purpose to watch out for those thorns, and diligently work on being good soil.