You are the keeper of your heart. Sometimes, we’re unaware that the trials we are facing are directly related to the things we are allowing.
Jesus said, “And some [seed] fell among thorns, and thorns sprang up with it and choked it… Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity” (Luke 8:7,14).
We’ve been looking at the parable of the sower because Jesus said if you don’t understand this parable, how will you understand all parables? And the first thing we must understand is the “seed” is God’s Word. When we attend church, read our Bibles, or listen to messages on podcasts or CD, God’s Word becomes “seed” planted in the soil of our hearts (or what the parable describes as ground).
Interestingly, Jesus described 4 types of ground: wayside, stony, thorny, and good. He indicated that only 25% of people actually have hearts that will bear fruit to maturity. The Wayside heart hears the Word but doesn’t understand it so they bear no fruit because the enemy steals it before it can take root. Regarding this heart, we learned we must SHOO THE BIRDS. We don’t have to entertain thoughts of doubt and unbelief.
The Stony heart hears the Word and receives it with joy, but they only endure for a time because they stumble too easily at persecution, tribulation, and temptation. We can’t completely avoid these attacks, but we learned we can MOVE THE STONES. When we stumble, we should learn from it, and fix the path.
The next type of heart is the Thorny heart. Notice Jesus said the seed fell among thorns which sprang up with it. So my question is, what are you allowing? You’ve obviously heard the Word, but if your life isn’t bearing the kind of fruit you desire, what is choking it? None of us are exempt to “thorns” in this life, but we can learn to PULL THE WEEDS.
When you were a child, I bet you picked a dandelion at least once and blew its seeds in the wind (even boys did this for the fun of it). The dandelion’s pretty yellow flower was deceiving. It looked like something harmless and pretty, but it’s nothing more than a weed that spreads its bad seed with a soft wind.
This is how it is with hurts and deceptions in our life.
Dandelions are NOT flowers, and your hurts are not protecting you. Instead, when we allow our past hurts to grow with God’s Word, they actually choke the fruit from growing to full maturity. And like the seeds of the dandelion that spread so easily, so does our bitterness. The seeds land on our children and those close to us– sometimes making them offended also, or sometimes it simply pushes them away. Neither is the will of God.
Deuteronomy 30:19 says, “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.” In the garden of your life, there are flowers and dandelions (things that lead to life and things that lead to death). CHOOSE LIFE.
When offenses come, deal with them. Pull the weeds. Jesus said the one with the thorny ground had fruit– but it never matured. What a shame.
It’s no fun to pull weeds. It was my least favorite chore when I was a kid. But I did (and still do) admire a beautiful garden that is weed-free!
This is what good ground should look like. Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). Something pure is free from contaminants. In this case, if our heart is free from stones, thorns, and birds, we are promised to see God’s amazing work in our lives. And so will others.
