Mark 4
18Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.
My Community Group finally, after a couple of great weeks doing other things, got around to studying Mark 4:1-20, a passage that has been punching me in the gut repeatedly of late. Take a moment to read the whole thing here, and then come back. It's cool. I'll wait...
Now, ok, so Jesus is talking about how the Gospel affects different people's hearts/lives, and He's comparing the people to different kinds of soil. I think we've all been all the different kinds of soil at some point in our lives, and at this point for me, there are a lot of thorns and brambles (or as we kept calling them tonight, "brayambles"). My life is in a general state of upheaval at the moment, and it's a REALLY good, exciting time, but with all the changes come a lot of worries and desires for all kinds of things including, but not limited to: safety, comfort, convenience, a bank account in the black, and an Italian boyfriend.
The problem arises when I allow all of these things to hold a position of greater power than the Gospel. When I set up safety as an idol, for example, I'm not trusting that God is good no matter what my physical health is like, and I'm not letting Him show His goodness and love to me (or anyone else through me) because I'm too preoccupied with keeping myself safe.
That, I think, is what it means for worries and desires for other things to come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. It's not that the Gospel is too weak to break through those other things. It's that the soil (me) is nurturing the weeds and brambles (worry/idols) so that they grow while the word remains a tiny shoot, surrounded and strangled and overshadowed.
Man, what a horrific lie! And what a pitiful little fake Gospel I'm believing in if it can't even stand up to my fear that I won't find an Italian boyfriend. That is not the Gospel at all. I don't know what that is, but the Gospel is that life conquered death, that love drove out fear, that God will always provide, and that Jesus chose me. So safety, convenience, worry and wealth can just suck it, although I'm not going to lie – I'd still like that Italian boyfriend. My desire for him is no match for Jesus's desire for me, though.
I'm going to try and get at this from a whole different angle tomorrow. Because it's been getting at me from all different angles, and I love it. Until then, adieu.
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