Thorns in my garden

Wow!  It hit me like a ton of bricks this morning.  Reading the parable of the soils again spoke to me in a way like never before.  Mark 4:7 says, "Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain."

The seed that falls among thorns-yes, "the thorns of the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things" as described in verse 19 is the very place God puts some people.  I've always figured people went there on there own, but not according to verse 7.  Now, does that excuse the person who lands there?  Does that give them right to fall prey to them?  No, not at all.  The Apostle says in Romans, "Shall we sin that grace may about?  By no means."

So what does it mean if we fall in the midst of all that negativity?  I believe it means we are to put down roots so deep, we choke out the things around us that are working so hard to choke the life out of us.

This takes me back to when we lived in Pelican Pointe.  Asparagus fern are such nasty creatures, the state of Florida has asked nurseries to no longer sell it.  Instead, the state now considers it a noxious weed.  If you've ever tried to get rid of the stuff, you'll understand.  Oh, it's pretty.  Such a delicate, lacy green look.  In pots in homes and offices in the north, it's beautiful.

But sin, too, is often beautiful to look at. However, when you get beneath the surface you understand why plants around it die.  The root system looks something like a spider web.  It starts with a nodule. From that nodule multiple roots develop, going in all directions.  Each root develops its own nodules that, in turn, produce more roots that have nodules.  On and on it goes, ad infinitum.  The roots then wrap themselves around the roots of shrubs, flowers, trees that you don't want to die.  Is it any wonder Florida doesn't want any more sold?

On top of that, the delicate fern that is so pretty is easily carried by the wind to places where none had grown before.  Each spring, it produces berries in clusters, much like grapes.  The berries turn and when ripe, drop off the branches and start the process all over again.

I've said asparagus fern is like sin.  You either get it all or it comes back.  If we happen to be one of those seeds that land in an area that is infested like the asparagus fern infested our shrubs, now what? God never makes a mistake.  If He put me there, He has a purpose.  And, He did not put me there and say, "You're on your own, kid."  He never gives us any more than we can bear.  He continually prunes us and pulls the weeds around us-if we're willing.

I'm reminded that God is the husbandman of the vineyard and as he cares for the vineyard, that work is His, like pulling nasty asparagus fern roots was mine.  The plant's job-mine-is to bloom where I'm planted.    Let's face it.  We're in a world that is choking the life out of a lot of us.  We all seem to be worried about something, and we all at times fall prey to wanting more money.  Those sales pitches can be so enticing.

Seeking the Lord in such a crazy-mixed up world is, I'm convinced, the only answer.  That's how I put down roots.  The song says if we turn our eyes on Jesus the things of this world will grow strangely dim by the light of His glory and grace.  So often, I have tried on my own to get out of the weed patch and frankly, it didn't work.  Now, I know why.  If I am fruitful and multiply where I am, someday the weed patch will become a beautiful garden.