Mark 4:1-34

“… and the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke out the word” (v19).  Jesus was telling His disciples that there is no “magic” in the growth of a seed, or in the development of the life of faith.  The process is invisible, but not irrational.  The Word (the seed) carries everything necessary for life (and a bountiful harvest, v28-29), but we can choke it out by neglecting it and nurturing something else.  

Receiving the gospel is not knowing the right answers, but eagerly nurturing the new life God plants within us.