#78: THE ENTANGLED HEART

A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed…some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. Now the parable is this: the seed is the Word of God. And they which fell among thorns are they which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection (Luke 8:5, 7, 11, 14).

Still on the issues of the heart-which is very fundamental in God’s dealings with a man because he is more interested in the state of the heart and the intent to the physical appearances that are visible to men (I Sam 16:7), there is another pathetic heart condition that is painted in the parable of the sower. As earlier mentioned in the last edition, the entangled heart has a form of godliness that is deceptive but not acceptable in the eyes of the LORD. God will be revealing to us the intrinsic characteristics of the entangled heart with this article. Amen.

The heart is fertile but not clear or free hence the title-entangled heart. The word of God is coming to a heart that is engaged with affairs. The seed is falling among (in the midst of) thorns. The seed and thorns are competing for space, nutrients, dominance, superiority, sunlight, water. As is usually the case in the agricultural practice, the weeds will always have the upper hand. The Spirit of God is not that which strives with man.

When they have heard, go forth: I sense that the persons with the entangled heart are not altogether unzealous, as a matter of fact, they sincerely want to serve the LORD. They leave the church with all zeal and determination to make a difference in their generation. They make commitments to God but they end up not following up their end of the bargain. They have this sense of commission whenever they hear God speak.

...and the thorns sprang up with it (and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life): in tandem with their zeal to work for the LORD, there is also something in them that needs zeal. There is also a master in them that they have not denied. There is a contending for time, attention and effort. This quickly reminds me of the story of the rich young ruler that came to meet Jesus in Luke 18: 18-30. The man had zeal for the LORD. He was not content with his present spiritual status. He sensed there was a deeper depth he could go with the LORD, but when Jesus told him the root cause of his hindrance, he could not just imagine letting go of his master-wealth and embracing a new master-Jesus. We must be very careful of this area. It is the most important pre requisite of being a disciple of Jesus (Luke 9:23).

…and choked it (and bring no fruit to perfection): O LORD! What a matter You are confronting me with. It is very worthy of note that these persons with the entangled heart are not withering in a hurry. As a matter of fact, they may not wither, but they are half baked and all their fruits are not to standard; they are not to perfection. Their leaves would be variegated. We must be careful to watch out for this deceptiveness. They have a form of godliness, but the power is lacking. Everything that is meant to be perfect has been choked by thorns. There are spots and wrinkles in their lives because of what they are being encumbered with.

Thought: love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but of the world. [Therefore as a form of conclusion] break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns (I John 2:15&16, Jer 4:3b).