p. 5 | CHOKED WITH THORNS by Dudley Marvin Canright

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jun 29, 1869

CHOKED WITH THORNS.

By Dudley Marvin Canright

Christ once spoke a parable of the sower and the seed. Some seed fell by the wayside, and was picked up by fowls; some fell on stony ground, and soon withered away; and some fell among thorns, and the thorns choked it so that it produced no fruit. In explaining the parable he says of this class, “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.” Mark iv, 18, 19.

I have frequently seen the illustration here used. A hill of corn, for example, is planted in the fence corner, or where it is not cultivated. It comes up as soon as any hill of corn in the field, and it promises as fair on the start as any; but soon the weeds also come up with, and so they both grow together. The corn does not die. It is a hill of corn all summer. But it looks yellow and spindling. However, it does not give up entirely; oh, no. It looks as though it wanted to do something, and had a hope that it would be just good enough to be gathered with the rest. It maintains its place and standing as a hill of corn. The stalks are there, the leaves are there, the tassels also appear in due time, and so do the sets for the ears of corn, and even the silk will be seen also. But when the time comes to harvest the corn, go there and strip down the husks, and look for the corn, and what will you find? Nothing but a little, soft cob, and perhaps two or three frost-bitten kernels of corn. It is not worth gathering, and a farmer will never go near such a hill to get it when he harvests the rest of his corn.

Now Christ says that this represents a class of professed Christians, whose religion is choked by the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and pleasures of the world. Such Christians, like the hill of corn, never give up. No; they keep up a form, and have some appearance of Christians. They know that they are not growing as they ought to; yet they look at the points of resemblance between themselves and true Christians, and they have a “faint hope.” They believe, have been baptized, belong to the church, attend meetings some, generally have family worship, confess their sins occasionally, &c. They have no idea of giving up; not they. But in the great harvest day, when fruit is demanded, not form, not appearance, not simply stalk, leaf, tassel, silk, and cob, but fruit; they have none. They are as barren as that hill of corn. The great Husbandman will never gather them, never. They will be left to burn with the chaff, the hay, wood, and stubble.

The care of this world was the excuse. The farm must be cultivated, debts must be paid, the family must be supported; so the father gets no time for prayer, prayer-meetings, visiting the needy, &c. The house must be kept in order, children must be clothed, &c.; so mother gets no time to read, to pray, to teach the children, to serve God. Thorns, briars, and weeds grow all around, but no precious fruit. O Lord, wake us up to these things.

D. M. CANRIGHT.