Skip to main content

The Worries of This World




   I've been reading through scripture in an attempt to read cover to cover in one calendar year. The rich, slow, intricate story of the Old Testament has been wonderful, but as this year comes to a close I found myself craving the vibrancy of the New Testament. I skipped forward a bit and jumped into Matthew, and it has felt like guzzling water after a long, dry wait. 

  This morning I was in Matthew 13, devouring the stories and parables of Jesus. Chapter 13 includes the parable of the sower and the variety of outcomes of his seeds. Most of it is Sunday-school familiar; some seeds fall on the path and birds eat them, some seeds on rocky ground and quickly sprouted and died for lack of depth, some fell in thorns and are choked out, and some on good soil and reproduce in droves. 

  What struck me this morning was Jesus' explanation of the thorns later in the chapter...

He said: " Now the one sown among the thorns- this is the one who hears the word, but the worries of this age and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful." (Matt. 13:22)

  Friends, THE WORRIES OF THIS WORLD can so easily choke out our fruitfulness. 

Let's keep our attention on the right things, the right One, the right citizenship. Don't let the worries of this world steal your fruitfulness! The "soil" is inside us, not our external circumstances. Worry happens INSIDE. Our fruitfulness depends on the condition of OUR INSIDE, not the surrounding circumstance. 

Stay focused, tend your heart, shine bright in this darkness!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Snag

  Are you tired of hearing about sickness yet?      Seems like a swirl of illness has been making its way through all the pods of community around us. Despite all our elderberry and all the home remedies this grow-your-own geek Mama could muster, the germs entered our household too.    The big ones were down first, a sister shortly after. Then the Little Bear, and Papa Bear. One sister and I escaped, and eventually even the combination of our introverted selves and a can't-go-anywhere week finally gave way to some restlessness. She began begging to be dropped off at a friend's house, and I think I inwardly begged the same- ha!    I hadn't quite counted the cost of it all. The week wrapped up, and the nights settled, but the sour and the "hey Mama"s continued. All of a sudden my heart began to resist. The quiet, restful days had been nice for a little while. I got some projects done that I don't have time for during full-swing school at the table. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Small Victory

I have a small victory to share with you:  Let me give some context... I blogged about the loss of children recently, verbally stomping my feet and telling the enemy that I will have no more of it- and that I have chosen my side and refuse to budge. The children God has given me "on loan" are all so different... Jonathan was an easy baby, and is currently a whirl-wind 3 1/2 yr old- he is FULL of energy, curiosity, music, rythm, he is friendly, relational, deep (yes, deep!), always thinking, processing, talking... He knows about God and that Jesus is real, and he knows that his baby sister Evelyn is safe with Jesus. Henry was a difficult baby, and is an easy 2 yr-old!  He adores his  brother and wants to be where he is, he gives AMAZING hugs, likes to be held, likes books, connects quickly with people, is caring, noisy, talkative, fast... and still has his innocence. He likes to pray. Evelyn has changed my life more than anything. Her body was tiny, but her exis...
11 comments
Read more

Windows

I've been working on allowing God to walk the dusty corners of my heart- places that have seemed foundational, and therefore needed to stay unchanged so that the structure of my heart wouldn't be threatened. As God gently earns more and more of my trust, I allow Him into those places because I trust that the changes He makes will not crush me. I trust that as he walks my dusty corners He will pull aside heavy drapes, flooding sunlight through windows I did not know were there. It becomes a beautiful experience, full of discovery and fresh freedom and light. Somewhere along the line I disconnected between head and heart that God is very, very wealthy. I felt stuck in my humanity, limited by what I, as a human, am capable of. I could only earn as much money as the amount of work I did, I could only reach as many people as I "witnessed" to, I would only be good at something if I put in hard, hard practice hours. Self control became not a fruit of the SPIRIT, but a ...
Post a Comment
Read more