Seed Among the Thorns

And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful – Mark 4:18-19.

We must not confuse the seed that falls in thorny soil in this parable with the seed that God allows to grow up with weeds in another parable (cf. Matt 13:24-ff). We must allow the context to dictate the meaning of the weeds. Here the seed is unfruitful and dies because the thorns choke the Word.

The point of this parable is to show that Christians need to mature in an environment that is conducive to Christian growth. You cannot become a Christian and continue in a life of sin. Though we like to stress that salvation is by grace alone, Paul reminds us that “Bad company ruins good morals” (I Cor 15:33). King Solomon also turned from the Lord in his old age because of the influence of his wives (I Kings 11). Solomon married women from many different pagan nations: Moab, Edom and even Pharaoh’s daughter. His relationship with his wives turned his heart away from the God of Israel and toward other gods.

Nevertheless, Christians should not use such texts to avoid contact with the secular world. The seed was cast among the thorns. We must not forget that the gospel was taken to them. We must also remember that salvation is not merely a decision one makes, but a change in one’s whole way of life. The priorities of the world that dominate the thoughts of the unsaved mind should be replaced by new and better desires. Such a shift in thought will cause one to remove oneself from the thorns.