Mark 4:3, 7, 18-19 (NIV): “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed…Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain…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.”
Like the seeds that fell on the hard path and the shallow soil, the seed that fell on the thorny soil fell there unintentionally. In the crowds that surrounded Jesus, there were definitely those whose hearts were plowed, moist, fertile, and ready to take His words of life deeply into themselves where they would produce a crop. But there were others whose hearts had been hardened and tamped down by their own self-righteousness, so that Jesus’ words could not take root. There were others who were there for the emotional rush of being where the action was. They came for the miracles, and to see this famous rabbi that everyone was talking about. Jesus’ words impacted them, but they had no depth to their commitment, so when the emotions wore off, or when hard times came, their faith dried up and they fell away.
Other seeds in the parable fell on thorny soil, or, as it has sometimes been called, weedy or crowded soil. Although it hadn’t been plowed up or worked well, this was actually good soil, full of nutrients, and with enough depth to allow for good root systems. But there was already lots of stuff growing there. So when the newly planted seeds grew up, the other plants that already had a good root system in place drew off all of the nutrients and water for themselves, leaving the good plant stunted and fruitless.
One characteristic of good, fertile soil is that things will grow on it. If you simply clear a patch of good ground and leave it alone, it won’t be long before all kinds of things are growing there. And if you want good seed to grow on that good ground, it is necessary to clear out and root up every plant that is already growing, so that the good seed has no competition for root-space or water. Then the farmer must ensure that any weeds that do spring up are ruthlessly pulled out before they can gain a toehold.
This is one of the reasons for some of Jesus’ statements that sound harsh to our ears. Things like:
- “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:37-39 NIV)
- Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” (Matthew 16:24-25 NIV)
- Jesus looked at him (the rich young man) and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (Mark 10:21 NIV)
Unless a person is so determined to follow Jesus that they are willing to lay down everything else that they hold dear, to turn away from all that is important to them, to take up their cross and die to their old life anew every single day, those other things will grow up, and not only compete with Jesus for first place in that person’s life, but will use up the time, energy, and attention that the full-fledged disciple must give to the work of the kingdom, and will strangle that person’s faith and make them unfruitful. In the end, even good soil (perhaps especially good soil) must be tended carefully, continually, and ruthlessly in the life of a disciple if their faith is going to be fruitful and productive for God’s kingdom.
Father, this is a good warning. It is so easy to let the things of this world and the day-in day-out routines of life crowd out our single-hearted devotion to You. Help me today to be ruthless in my attention to You, and to have the courage and strength I need to root out of my life all that competes with You, and that draws my time and attention away from Your agenda. Amen.
Today's Scripture 