Thorns and Thistles

 

And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience. (Luke 8:4-15 ESV).

 

We seem to returning to some normalcy in our lives as more people have received their vaccinations and the disease that ravaged our culture subsides. The fifteen months of learning to cope with Covid-19 has taken its toll in many ways. Just one of those is a direct result of working from home. It has taken us away from the sanctity of our homes. There has been a blurring of the lines between the busy, hectic life of work and what has always supposed to be the security and peace of home. We have very little rest from our daily worries and schedules. We have fallen among the “thorns and thistles” of life.

 

We’ve all been distracted by our desires to be “bigger, better, and faster.” That’s the condition when we strive to reach that next pay grade, get that new car with all the bells and whistles, or scoop up that new iPhone that no one else has yet. It could even be that new lakeside property, or even that amazing new power tool. If something like that is driving you, it’s time to step back, take a deep breath, and ask God if you are doing the right thing. The pleasures and distractions Jesus is talking about in this parable don’t have to be sinful to choke our maturity in the Christian life.

 

Perhaps it’s time for you to do some self-examination. It’s not wrong to enjoy great blessings, to set goals for building a business, or to have a bucket list, but it would be a huge mistake to let anything but the Lord be your motivator. If we are distracted or driven by life’s troubles and worries, or by trends, gadgets, or gains and the pleasures they seem to offer, we won’t grow in the truly good life God intends for us. Instead, we will let those things take over in our lives, choking out the rich and full life God wants us to enjoy forever.