We are all familiar with the parable of the sower so much so that perhaps some of us have treated it like a light Sunday School story. And most of the time, it is told in the context of evangelism forgetting that three out of four said yes to Jesus but only one came out winning for the Lord. Ticking off the “prayed to receive the Lord Jesus Christ” box is the easy part in the life of a Christian.  

From the three who “prayed to receive Christ,” one was like a seed that fell on rocky grounds. Although there are plants that can grow in rocky soil, this seed could not. As we know, roots take in water and nutrients that plants need to grow and live. They also help the plants prevent erosion while in dirt. But because there was no life development in this seed, it soon died.

This seed represents Christians who only know Jeremiah 29:11. And because they’re not rooted enough to understand that Christianity also promises them suffering and persecution, they are unable to prevent the erosion of life and soon are no more different than the one who rejected the gospel from the very start.

And then we have the second to accept Christ. Compared to the Jeremiah Christian, the soil for this type of follower has more roots but the thing is, it also has thorns. The question is, why were they not removed before they had the chance to choke? Why did the follower allow them to grow? Some thorny plants are used as a home defense from wild animals and intruders. So perhaps the intention was good but what became a point of protection strangled them in the end.

We have a home defense system to protect our material possessions and that is good stewardship but if they become the end-all-be-all of our lives especially for us to claim that this earthly life is not our home, there grows the problem. We are strangled by the cares and worries of this world.

Cares and worries are two different things. Worries are troubles that are all in the mind which most of the time, do not come to pass. Cares are legitimate concerns like earning an income, caring for our well-being, and taking care of our families but our busyness over them can choke our spiritual supply that it creates a bottleneck of things that may be urgent and important but never as urgent and important as our walk with God and fellowship with believers.

Thorns also serve a purpose to a plant as they protect it from being eaten by animals before they get a chance to grow. But too many thorns can kill it too in the same way as too many thorns in our lives can kill our relationship with God. What were once a need have become a want choking us in the end by a filled-up calendar of events or our bucket list that are not led by the Spirit. Sadly, for some of us, we don’t even realize we are being choked. We even enjoy them as we post them on social media for all to see and like. We even rebuff concerned brothers and sisters when they point that out to us.

During this pandemic season, the thin line which serves as a demarcation between worries and cares has become blurred. Yes it is but right to be concerned for our well-being both financial and health-wise but they have crossed over to become worries. There is too much activity sanitizing everything without realizing that we are losing our spiritual sanity. We have become no more different than the pagans with no hope and soon, we find ourselves seen by others as no different from the one who rejected the gospel from the very start.

COVID-19 has become like death and taxes. They are neither a respecter of wealth nor position. Some of the richest and the poorest people have died because of it. You might say that the rich are in a bigger or stronger boat in this turbulent sea. Perhaps so, but some of them are panic-screaming louder than those with nothing to eat for dinner tonight. So it is not about what we have and but what has us. May it be said, when this pandemic is over, and believe me, this too shall pass, let it be said that we produced a crop of hope, that we yielded a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Lord have mercy.