Luke the beloved physician shared how Jesus began to explain what His parable of the seed and the sower meant by saying, “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the way side are they that hear; then comes the devil, and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away”, and in chapter eight and verse fourteen of his book Luke shared how Jesus spoke about the seed, “which fell among thorns” where we read:
And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth,
and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.
The verse reads, “And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, …” Luke began with the words, “and that which fell among thorns” or “and the seed which was scattered and spread upon brier bushes, bramble or thorny plants” “are they, which, when they have heard” which means “are people who at the time and moment they are given the faculty of hearing, perceiving and understanding”, “go forth” or “proceed, depart and traverse”. Luke shared how Jesus said the “seed sown among thorns” are like people who have “listened to and received” the word of God and go about their lives.
The verse continues, “... and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.” Luke added the words “and are choked with cares” which means “and are pressed round or thronged so as to be suffocated with anxiety and solicitude with anxieties or worries” “and riches” or “and wealth, abundance, plenitude and external possessions” “and pleasures” which means “and desire for sensual delight, lust and physical satisfaction” “of this life” or “belonging to living which is sustained with resources, wealth and goods”, “and bring no fruit” which means “and do not carry or bear to maturity any ripened fruit” “to perfection” or “to it's ripened state or completion””. Luke shared how Jesus said the “seed sown among thorns” represented people who hear the word or “gospel” of God but allow the “anxieties”, “wealth” and “sensual delights” of this life to “suffocate and stifle” their ability to produce “completed” “fruit” within God's Kingdom.
When we think through Luke's words in this verse, we learn how Jesus said the group of people who receive His “gospel” but are “entangled” with “cares, riches and pleasures in this life” become unfruitful in His Kingdom. Worldly distractions keep them from being “fruitful”, and because they allow “suffocating distractions” within their lives, they become as useless for producing for God. God knew other things will compete to be the priority in a person's life, and although they may have a belief in God, Jesus Christ and His “gospel”, they are unproductive in His work. All who read these words should take heed to Jesus' words concerning the “things” in life which “choke out” their “fruitfulness” in God's Kingdom, and be certain to put away anything that impedes their producing “fruit” for Him.
Next time Luke shares how Jesus told about the seed, “on the good ground”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book
“Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the
marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the
Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms
Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County"
in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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