“These are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.” Mark 4:18-19
I’ve been finding it hard to write today’s post because, well, I have a lot to think about other than today’s post. So I’ve decided to write about the things that are keeping me from writing it. Sort of ironic, I suppose.
Jesus calls the things that keep us from doing what the Word of God tells us to do “thorns.” Spiritual thorns, Jesus says, are “the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things.” These types of mental and spiritual distractions displace biblical truths in our mind and keep us from acting on them.
As I write this post, I am reminded that two days ago I had an actual physical six foot high thorn bush to remove to make way for an air conditioning compressor to be installed next to our home.
There’s a big difference between mere weeds and thorn bushes. Weeds take only a couple of days to sprout and grow. But thorn bushes indicate an extended period of neglect, or, in this case, cultivation. The thing was huge. Weeds can be plucked with our bare hands. But I had to use thick gloves, pruning shears and a pickax to get the the thorn bush out.
Spiritual and mental thorns are just like that. They are powerful obstacles in our mind that compete with, and distract us from, the truths of God’s word. When we allow them to take root and grow over time, they become more and more difficult to remove, until finally we just give in and let them grow.
What to do?
Here are a couple of suggestions for not letting the thorns in your life get out of hand.
First, love God by spending time alone with Him in prayer and scripture meditation. No matter how many cares and concerns we have, spending time alone with God will always clear a path for us through the thorns of life.
Second, love others around you. Serve them. Pray for them. And then commit them to the Lord. Spiritual and mental thorns are self-centered thorns. Redirect your attention to others. Don’t allow your cares and concerns to keep you from experiencing the blessings of meeting the needs of others.
Everyone has weeds and thorn bushes sprouting around them all the time. But by loving God and loving others, we will cultivate our spiritual soil to receive the Word of God in fruitfulness.
This post first appeared in NewCommandment.org.
For the past sixteen years New Commandment Men’s Ministries has helped hundreds of churches throughout North American and around the world recruit teams of men who permanently adopt their widowed and single parents in their congregations for the purpose of donating two hours of service to them one Saturday morning each month. We accomplish this with a free training site called New Commandment Men’s Ministry
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