“And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, but the worries and cares of the world [the distractions of this age with its worldly pleasures], and the deceitfulness [and the false security or glamour] of wealth [or fame], and the passionate desires for all the other things creep in and choke out the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”

Some may furrow their brow when looking between the title of this post and the Scripture verse. The question may arise, What does the Parable of the Sower, more specifically, seeds sown into thorny ground have to do with staying under the water? On the surface, the answer is, “nothing.” But, if you’ll permit me a bit of latitude, prayerfully, I will connect the dots given me by The Holy Spirit…

When a Believer chooses to take the next step of obedience in their faith walk with Christ they’re baptized—immersed in water. This holy act of obedience is an outward profession that demonstrates—if done with an upright heart, the believer’s public acknowledgement of their faith in a crucified, buried, and resurrected Savior. They too are signifying the end of their right to hold onto a life lived in bondage to sin and death as they welcome in the beginning of a life lived for Jesus and the hope of being a part of the final resurrection of those who believe in, live for—have given their life to, Jesus Christ (Matthew:6-8; Luke 3:3-16). Jesus Himself was baptized, not to denote His need for forgiveness—He was without sin, but rather to set an example for those of us who would come to believe in Him. In allowing Himself to be baptized, Jesus was pointing us towards his own death, burial, and resurrection, and the power He has over both.

The very foundation of the Christian’s hope…

And, unless you go into the baptismal waters a dry devil and come up a wet one, (with an unclean heart, being showy, with no true desire for surrender and change) any true Blood bought believer knows that once you walk out of that water, satan is there to greet you with every conceivable challenge and trial he is allowed to throw at you! He will challenge you from that moment forward, until the Lord takes you home. He was there in the wilderness to try Jesus after His baptism; surely, we, as Jesus’s followers, will not escape being met by satan’s temptations and trials also (Matthew 4:1-11).

So here is where I’ll pivot. Taking us up from under the water, onto dry land, and, into a thorny place.

In our Scripture today, Jesus is teaching on the parable of the Sower.  The third condition He speaks of in this parable is that of the seed (God’s Word) falling among thorns. Matthew, Mark, and Luke, (also known as the Synoptic Gospels) each speak of this same parable—and each expounds on it to a greater or lesser degrees. It is here that Jesus makes plain to us that those who have received God’s Word can easily loose it. They can literally allow God’s Word to be choked out of them—syphoned out of them, Word by Life-giving Word. All Seemingly unawares…

How?

Jesus teaches that if we let the cares of this world—the ‘thorns’—the worries of this life (our responsibilities), the deceitfulness of wealth (the lusting after earthly wealth, possessions), and the desire for other things (the pleasures of this life, sinful or not, to choke out what God has planted in us—through the hearing of His Word, we will not only cease to grow in Him, we will eventually fall away from Him. We’ll end up turning towards the true desire of our heart, our wants—our gods. Anything that we allow to crowd Jesus out, robbing us of time spent with Him—time seeking His will, putting Him above all that we may want or desire, is a thorn that, left unchallenged, can easily become a god…

And, in the end, if our thorns are not pulled up by their roots and made to die—they will overshadow and destroy our walk with Christ. “Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (Exodus 34:14).

Mind you—Jesus is by no means suggesting that a Christian should live a joyless life. And neither am I. Nor is He suggesting that one not have passions or interests.  Or, that the talents He gave not be applied to our work.  His Word tells us that: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17) He created both our passion and our interest—and then put them in us, His creations, for His use and purpose.

Jesus, when talking about these thorns, is referring to both the condition of the heart as much as the external circumstances that are coming up against it—threatening it. They—these thorns, speak to the Who and what a person has chosen to make a priority in this life. Said Scripturally: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21).

Now that I’ve covered the thorny ground, one final pivot to head back into the waters of Baptism and unite them both in closing. In baptism, when we rise out of the water, our old man—our life as we’ve known it is left in there, a dead thing. We’ve relinquished our rights to self in our surrender to the Will of God…

In today’s Scripture, Jesus is teaching us how these thorns enter into our lives and their ramifications if left unchallenged. Unlike our Spirit-man, who experiences instant transformation ( becomes new) the moment we accept Jesus,  our flesh and soul must be put on the Potter’s wheel to have their habits, those thorns we’ve developed, worked out of us through submission to God and by the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s not instantaneous. The outer man, our flesh and soul, is a work in progress until Christ calls us home. Christ must work out of us those habits, hurts, and, hang-ups we’ve been carrying around with us, the residue of our  bad choices—our selfishness and self-reliance, our me-isms. Those desires, even those that are good and pleasant, that distract us from going after Him with all we have must go. We must choose, daily, often moment by moment, to surrender to His Hands. To say yes to Christ and no the lure of this world.

Friend, do all that you’re able to keep your thorns in the water where they belong. Stay pliable, submissive, and pray, always, that God will strengthen you to choose Him and not the thorns…

“And He said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Let me ask you friend, what do you need to take back to the water and leave there? Jesus is just waiting for you to give him your thorns, those things that hinder you drawing ever closer to Him. He’s always near, we do the moving. His promise of grace to Paul is yours as well. Grab hold of it today. Don’t let the world choke out—rob you, of your relationship with God.

Don’t let the cares of this world rob you of all that He has planted in you through the hearing of His Word…

If you haven’t asked Jesus into your heart as Lord and Savior, then do it now, today. No man is promised tomorrow. Pray this simple prayer wherever you are… Lord, Come into my heart. I am a sinner in need of a Savior. I believe you died and rose again, and will come to bring us to yourself. I give you my life in full surrender.”

If you just prayed that for the first time, welcome into the family! Pray that God now lead you into a church home that is steeped in His Word. But you must do your part. You have to  go. Trust that He’ll direct you but remember, He can’t take you where you refuse to go!

Blessings Friends…