“The Sower Went Forth to Sow”
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This is the religion of Christ. Anything short of it is a deception.
No mere theory of truth or profession of discipleship will save any
soul. We do not belong to Christ unless we are His wholly. It is
by halfheartedness in the Christian life that men become feeble in
purpose and changeable in desire. The effort to serve both self and
Christ makes one a stony-ground hearer, and he will not endure when
the test comes upon him.
Among Thorns
“He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the
word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke
the word, and he becometh unfruitful.”
The gospel seed often falls among thorns and noxious weeds; and if
there is not a moral transformation in the human heart, if old habits and
practices and the former life of sin are not left behind, if the attributes
of Satan are not expelled from the soul, the wheat crop will be choked.
The thorns will come to be the crop, and will kill out the wheat.
Grace can thrive only in the heart that is being constantly prepared
for the precious seeds of truth. The thorns of sin will grow in any
soil; they need no cultivation; but grace must be carefully cultivated.
The briers and thorns are always ready to spring up, and the work of
purification must advance continually. If the heart is not kept under
the control of God, if the Holy Spirit does not work unceasingly to
refine and ennoble the character, the old habits will reveal themselves
in the life. Men may profess to believe the gospel; but unless they are
sanctified by the gospel their profession is of no avail. If they do not
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gain the victory over sin, then sin is gaining the victory over them.
The thorns that have been cut off but not uprooted grow apace, until
the soul is overspread with them.
Christ specified the things that are dangerous to the soul. As
recorded by Mark He mentions the cares of this world, the deceitful-
ness of riches, and the lusts of other things. Luke specifies the cares,
riches, and pleasures of this life. These are what choke the word, the
growing spiritual seed. The soul ceases to draw nourishment from
Christ, and spirituality dies out of the heart.
“The cares of this world.” No class is free from the temptation to
worldly care. To the poor, toil and deprivation and the fear of want