Mark 4:18, “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.” 

A few weeks ago, I cleared a spot just behind my house that is becoming overrun with thorny bushes & weeds. Connie and I marveled at how we hadn’t noticed it and then suddenly it seemed to be consuming our backyard with ugly, bristly brush.  Those thorns were so sharp, they pierced through my gloves as I pulled them out of the way. My arms were covered in scratches and my favorite pair of jeans received a tear.

This devotion came to mind as I took in the overwhelming task of getting this area cleaned up and cleared out. Thorns can quickly consume our lives – and I don’t mean the kind that was consuming my yard. Worries, obsessions over material goods and money, desires to live this way or that, can overgrow our hearts and minds pretty quick if we allow them in our lives. The seed sown among the thorns couldn’t grow because it was suffocated by the thorns – the distractions of life; the desires of the flesh; the lifestyles which are not inline with God.

It may be time to weed the thorny brush out of your heart and life.

I tossed all those branches in a nice big burn pile. I suggest you do the same.