Thorns and Weeds

Mark 3:43-4:8: Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, b/c the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so they did not bear grain. Still others fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times.

Mark 4:13-20 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then can you understand any parable? The farmer sows the word. Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes the word that was sown in them. Others, like seed sown in rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop – thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times what was sown.

When I read this parable, God convicted me that I let the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and desires for other things take me away from my focus on God. It seems like worries such as work, making sure I’m saving enough for the future, and the business of life distract me from God. I don’t listen to God, what He wants to teach me, and don’t seek God’s purposes for my life.

God's Purposes for Us

God created us for a purpose. I believe there is more to life than just working, getting married, and having a family. If this is all we accomplish, there still seems to be something missing in life. I think it is very important to seek God’s purpose in our lives. For what purpose did God create us? How does God want to work through us?

Now that we enter the second week in our marriage, I’m asking the question: What is God’s will for us as husband and wife? For what purpose did God bring us together? How does God want to work through us as a couple?

These are questions I seek answers for as we strive to make God the center of our marriage.

Promises of Marriage

I got married almost two months ago. While we were preparing for marriage through our pre-marital counseling sessions, I came to a fuller understanding of what marriage is about as we were reviewing our marriage vows.

Marriage is not about lovey, dovey feelings towards each other. Nor is it about physical attraction, nor emotional or financial security. It is a set of promises towards each other:

• I promise to love you.
• I promise to be faithful to you.
• I promise to cherish you for the rest of my life.

This is the core of what marriage is about.