FROM MY POINT OF VIEW:
In the Gospels, Jesus tells a parable about a farmer who, when planting his crops, found different levels of success. Some seed fell in a place it could not grow and produce like that which fell on the good soil. He called one of those “soil types”, “thorny ground.”
When Jesus explained the parable, He revealed that the thorny ground was actually descriptive of a kind of human heart that gets caught up in the cares of the world, in a quest for riches and things that consume a person. The seed of God’s Word took root and grew some, but all the other things choked out the necessary ingredients for healthy growth.
Unfortunately, that seems to be where many Christians live. They’re all caught up in a search for material things to fill the void in their lives. They search for everything and anything except God and His will. Ask them a reason why and they give you all kinds of excuses, but the truth is they’re convinced that the pursuit of God is harder, more difficult than all those other things.
Our world is consumed with the attitude of wanting things, “right now.” We look for the shortest lines at the fast food restruant. We count the items in the person’s cart in front of us at the grocery store. If they are in front of us, they better have “20 or less” items. Our lifestyles are influences by the “right now” principle.
God calls us to eternal life, which brings to mind something far different than the “right now” offer of so many things around us. Little wonder that so many people fall for deceptive promises. It’s not that there is nothing better available, it’s that many simply do not want to put in the effort required. There it is in all its glory, “effort.”
Real faith is not some psychological gimmick of imagination. It is trust in the things of God to the point that you are willing to live–actually live–according to what you believe. Christianity is faith based and won’t work unless we put some effort to it.
James 2:26 (NIV) As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
It’s vital to your Christian walk to examine your heart, or, as the parable goes, your “soil”. If it has thorns in it, your faith will starve to death.
That’s my view of things.