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“Remain in My Word”The Watchtower—2003 | February 1
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16. (a) What individuals resemble the thorny soil? (b) According to the three Gospel accounts, what is represented by the thorns?—See footnote.
16 What kind of individuals resemble the thorny soil? Jesus explains: “These are the ones that have heard, but, by being carried away by anxieties and riches and pleasures of this life, they are completely choked and bring nothing to perfection.” (Luke 8:14) Just as the sower’s seed and the thorns grow in the soil at the same time, so some individuals try to take in the word of God and the “pleasures of this life” at the same time. The truth of God’s word is sown in their heart, but it faces competition from other pursuits that vie for their attention. Their figurative heart is divided. (Luke 9:57-62) This prevents them from giving sufficient time to prayerful and meaningful reflection on God’s word. They fail to absorb God’s word fully and thus lack the heartfelt appreciation needed to endure. Gradually, their spiritual interests are overshadowed by nonspiritual pursuits to the point that they are “completely choked.”c What a sad ending for those who do not love Jehovah wholeheartedly!—Matthew 6:24; 22:37.
17. What choices do we need to make in life so as not to be choked by the figurative thorns mentioned in Jesus’ illustration?
17 By giving spiritual matters precedence over material considerations, we avoid being choked by the pains and pleasures of this world. (Matthew 6:31-33; Luke 21:34-36) Bible reading and reflection upon what we read should never be neglected. We will find more time for concentrated and prayerful meditation if we simplify our life as much as possible. (1 Timothy 6:6-8) Servants of God who have done so—who have, as it were, uprooted the thorns from the soil to give more nutrition, light, and space to the fruit-bearing plant—are experiencing Jehovah’s blessing. Says Sandra, aged 26: “When I meditate on my blessings in the truth, I realize that the world can offer nothing that compares with it!”—Psalm 84:11.
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“Remain in My Word”The Watchtower—2003 | February 1
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c According to the three Gospel accounts of Jesus’ parable, the seed is choked by the pains and pleasures of this world: “The anxieties of this system of things,” “the deceptive power of riches,” “the desires for the rest of the things,” and the “pleasures of this life.”—Mark 4:19; Matthew 13:22; Luke 8:14; Jeremiah 4:3, 4.
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