Thorns of Life

"The seed cast in the [thorns] is the person who hears the kingdom news, but [thorns] of worry and illusions about getting more and wanting everything under the sun strangle what was heard, and nothing comes of it" Matthew 13:22 (MSG)

Have you ever seen a beautiful rose bush laced with hundreds of thorns? Most are, and some more than others. The bush could contain plenty of luscious roses, but the thorns always seem to outnumber whatever lovely display of roses there is to see. 

We are roses in a world enlaced with thorns. The question is, are we tangled up in them? In Matthew 13, Jesus is illustrating a message using a parable about a farmer planting seed. The seed is the gospel, and is cast onto the ground. Depending on the soil, the seed will either last, or die for lack of a good foundation. I want to focus on the thorny ground. Re-read verse 22. The thorns of worry and want choke out the seed. This type of foundation relates to a person who cannot break with the love of money or the world. They care too much for the world and are decieved by riches. This type of person hears Christ, but then their love of the world chokes out the Word of God. And any one of us can easily become this person in this thorn-enlaced world. 

"You cannot focus on the kingdom of God while tangled up in the thorns of this life" -James MacDonald 

In Matthew 19:16-22, Jesus is speaking to a rich young ruler. The young man asks what he should do to have eternal life. Jesus proceeds to tell him in verse 21, "go, sell what you have and give to the poor." Jesus wasn't setting terms for salvation, but he was testing the young man to see where his heart lay.* He failed the test. He "went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions," (vs. 22). He allowed his love for himself and his love for possessions* to ensnare him in a thorn, and he ended up rejecting Jesus! 

The world is temporary. Christ is not. Our fancy cars, beautiful homes, big TV's, and life savings will go away. We are going to die one day and face reality. Did we allow ourselves to be ensnared in the thorns of the world, choking Christ out, or did Christ enter our hearts, and grow in such a way that no thorn could overtake us? 

"And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever" 

1 John 2:17 

*The MACARTHUR Study Bible footnotes Matthew 19:16-22