“And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.”
The Flame
Jesus names three specific choking forces here, cares of this world, deceitfulness of riches, lusts of other things, worth examining directly as the specific, identifiable mechanisms this whole movement’s exploration of cooling love has been describing more generally, now named with this particular, threefold precision.
This is worth holding against however much your own genuine, once-kindled love has become unfruitful, choked, not through dramatic rejection, but through this quiet, gradual choking, cares, riches, and other lusts entering in, crowding out the genuine flourishing this whole book’s first movement described as originally, genuinely possible.
Notice entering in, ongoing, active language, not a single event but continued, gradual entry, suggesting these choking forces require continued, active permission to keep entering, worth examining today whether continued, ongoing vigilance against them has actually been genuinely present, or quietly, gradually abandoned.
Consider today which of these three specific forces, cares, riches, other lusts, has most actually choked your own genuine fruitfulness, and take one deliberate step today to actually resist its continued entering in, trusting this specific, named diagnosis as more actionable than vague, general concern about spiritual coldness.
Tend the Flame
- Identify which of these three specific forces, cares, riches, other lusts, has most choked your fruitfulness.
- Resist its continued entering in today, deliberately, with one specific, concrete action.
- Trust this specific, named diagnosis as more actionable than vague concern about general coldness.
Prayer
Lord, show me specifically which cares, riches, or other lusts have been entering in and choking the word in me. Let me resist their continued entry, deliberately, today. Amen.
Carry this today
Specific, named diagnosis is more actionable than vague concern about general coldness.