22The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. 23But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."
Jesus speaks of dual enemies that choke us from growth and fruit: the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth. I would sum these up with the phrase "suface-level distractions." By suface-level, I don't necessarily mean minor. Some of these things are big issues. However, they are big issues on the SURFACE of our lives that often distract us from the greater, deeper things God is working for us in places we cannot see.
You are a mature Christian. You have heard the Word and have studied the character of God and His plan for your righteousness in Scripture, but you are distracted away from him by some situation in your life. Maybe like me, instead of hard circumstances causing you to cling deeply to Him and to meditate on your relationship with him, you allow it to divert your focus away from Him. Christmas is a season of many surface-level distractions. Your car needs unexpected repairs, an inconvenience that disrupts and complicates your well-planned day. On top of that, you need to spend money you had set aside for other real needs. But your God is soverign, compassionate, and wise. He loves you and has plans for you set in motion from before time began. Do you allow these truths to interpret your circumstances, or do you allow your circumstances to distract you from these truths? The first option leads to fruit. The second choice strangles us.
We are called to set our minds on heavenly things, take our thoughts captive, submit to the truth of the Word, and keep our minds set steadfastly on God (see Colossians 3:1, 2 Cor. 10:5, Isaiah 26:3). In other words , our focus is to be on the eternal--heaven, Christ, and the kingdom of God. We are choked from fruitfulness when we become consumed with the cares of this temporary world, and in particular, the deceifulness of riches. Many Christians are more convinced of the reality of their daily problems than the reality of their God. We will never be fruitful for the Savior if we fail to look past our surface-level, earthly cares to see the heavenly reality beneath.
In an effort to capture my thoughts and make them submit to the truth of Scripture, I have found Ephesians 1 very helpful in getting a good perspective of my heavenly reality in Christ.
6 comments:
Wow. Was that ever timely considering what I've been thinking and feeling today. I am allowing myself to be strangled lately by the worries of this world. Thank you for this post Wendy! It gave me a gentle reminder of where I am and where I need to be.
What a great post...I love the sentence you wrote about "being more convinced of the reality of our daily problems than the reality of our God." It makes me think about II Tim. 1: 12 I believe...being convinced that God is able to guard that which I entrust to Him...it's all His...living in this reality will probably produce fruit instead of choking the possibility.
Thank you and I am enjoying your book as well.
Thanks for the post. I had a "circumstance" this year when my dad passed away unexpectedly, not very old either. My fear is I would dishonor God in my grief, questioning His love and dealings in my life. So I did cling to Him and His Word, and it made all other "distractions" pale.
Jody, I am sorry to hear of your father's death. Certainly that type of loss is where we really must grasp our heavenly reality to have any hope in our earthly one.
Thank you all for posting.
Amem! Thanks for your post Wendy.
A timely post, particularly in this season of much worldly distraction!
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