For the past few days I’ve been speaking of the Parable of the Sower. Today, I wish to finish up by speaking of the seed that fell among the thorns (Luke 8:14). The first thing that I notice here is that there is no mention of hard ground or a hard heart. Now the problem the believer experiences is not hardness of his heart but that his heart is fertile ground for anything that grows. It is competition for the nutrients of the soil (one’s time and energy) that is the problem, and the heart “brings no fruit to perfection.”
In my home garden, I have been known to let things get away from me, as I gave my time to other matters that I considered more important at the time. I have seen the kind of fruit that my garden brought forth when it had to compete for the nutrients of the soil. I pulled the weeds too late and noticed that my tomatoes were part red and part black. They were not very attractive, and I certainly would not desire to give one away. There was no pride in my work at all. My beans were in a similar condition. They had black spots on the pods, and if I opened one, there was either nothing there to eat or something I had no desire to eat. Such is the case of one whose heart brings forth both thorns and the seed bearing fruit to God. No one is really attracted to Christ through this person. Why? Because, that one is really not fully committed or devoted to Christ. I cannot be one who causes others to desire Christ, if he is only a part of my life. He must BE my life. If Christ competes for my heart with other consuming interests (amoral or immoral), then unbelievers who know me will not find him attractive, because I don’t find him very attractive. Neither will I know him as I ought.
The next thing I notice about this Scripture, concerning this heart condition, is that the thorns growing there will repel the repentant one desiring to give the seed (or the word of God) room to grow. It is difficult and not without pain that I remove those things of the world, that I have permitted my heart to desire so much. To permit them to remain would prevent the seed of God’s word from bearing fruit to perfection in my life. However, once it is done, if I am careful to keep the competition from returning, this same ground (heart) will bear fruit 30, 60 or 100 fold according to the promise of God’s word (Matthew 13:8). God doesn’t create an evil heart. It is what I and others have done with our hearts that makes it unreceptive to the work of God. For example, it was only a year or so after I was not received as a Christian by one of the mainstream Christian churches that I began to succumb to the glitter of the world around me (cp. Genesis 13:12). I was already cultivating the most perfect looking root of bitterness against my brethren that one could imagine. I began reading about the eastern philosophies, but what really grabbed my attention was astrology. I was somewhat attracted to these philosophies, but none of them attempted to encourage one to lead a moral life. There was, therefore, no condemnation or correction of my behavior from these sources, so I began to permit myself more freedom to do those things that I would never have done as a legalist.
I experimented in everything my heart desired, but when I “came to myself” (Luke 15:17) and desired to return to my Father, my condition was a lot worse than before I began to experiment in the world (2Peter 2:20). I realize that this last Scripture is speaking of false prophets, but I truly believe that anytime we cross over a line and take new liberties with God, we shall have additional trouble. Remember, we are dealing with a curse. In Genesis 3:17-18 God cursed the ground, because of what Adam had done. The ground in the Parable of the Sower is the heart. Unless I am yielded to God, my heart is under this curse, and it will bring forth all kinds of evil (Mark 7:21-23; cp. Jeremiah 17:9). If I begin to do evil that once I shunned, it seems to me that I bring upon myself a lot of trouble that would not have otherwise occurred. My latter state is indeed worse than if I had not yielded at all to the evil. One could see this in a reformed alcoholic or drug addict. These people, though thoroughly reformed, are weaker than others with regard to their former addiction. Someone else might be able to sin with alcohol or drugs a few times without being overcome or destroyed. This is not so for the former alcoholic or drug addict. If he sins even once in his former habit, it could destroy him. His latter end is worse than the time he first began abusing that which had overcome him. Likewise, if I live in a manner unbecoming a son of God, I become weak in areas that once I seemed to be strong. I would need to be much more careful not to entertain thoughts of certain sins that kept the fruit of God from maturing in me. I need my Savior daily, every moment of every hour. I know I am weak and I know how easily I can be overcome, if I do not remain connected to him (John 15:1-5). I pray the light of God will shine in everyone’s heart who reads this, so each one could avoid the trouble that comes with allowing Jesus into only a part of one’s life.
If we are faithful our hearts resemble the good ground, and it will yield fruit to God (Luke 8:15) that is both morally good and beneficial to the Lord for his purposes. This one will listen to the word and keep it in his heart. He thinks about it until he thoroughly understands and with patience (a fruit of the Holy Spirit) brings forth fruit within himself to God. May God have mercy upon us all and bring each life to maturity in Christ, Jesus.
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