In Mark 4:14-20, Jesus likened the good news of salvation to seeds planted by a farmer.
"The farmer plants seed by taking God's word to others.
The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message, only to have Satan come at once and take it away.
The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy.
But since they don't have deep roots, they don't last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God's word.
The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God's word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced.
And the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God's word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!"
I wanted to write about the things that can keep us from God so we can be aware of them when they happen:
1. Problems/Troubles.
2. Persecution.
3. Worries.
4. Lure of money.
5. Desires for other things.
Everyone in the world is tempted by these things. When we are going through hard times, we wonder what God is up to and why we have to suffer. Why does he let these things happen to us?
When we are worried about paying the rent or buying food, we can be tempted to get mad at God for allowing such a thing to happen to us.
When we see other people with good jobs, nice cars and beautiful homes we wonder why we can't have those things. What have we done to deserve poverty?
We are all tempted to love other things more than God. We may love something innocent, like playing baseball. But if we give most of our attention to baseball or shopping or work, then we are worshiping it. We have made it our idol. If something fills our thoughts all day or as soon as we are off work, then it could possibly be an idol we put above God.
I must admit my own failures. I have failed the most in going through troubles. I have been angry and rebellious towards God many, many times. I didn't see why anyone, especially my daughters or me should have to suffer so much. But God never gave up on me. He moved on my heart to study this problem in the Bible and other Christian writers. I finally realized I was not understanding God or suffering.
Desires for other things has sometimes tripped me up. I think I have desired for too much in this life instead of being completely content with my life. I am coming to terms with these desires through Jesus' strength and wisdom.
What all these sins represent is not trusting God. We don't trust he has enough comfort for us. We don't trust he will help us when we need money. We don't trust that we will be happy with a simple life. We think he is a spoil-sport. But he is far from that. What we don't see is that he will comfort us in every trouble and help us in all our ways. They may not be the ways we think we want, but when we look back over the years of our lives we will see that if we had seen as He sees, we would have chosen the same path he chose for us.
