And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. (Luke 8:14)
- Choked--cut off from the life source (God)
- By cares and riches--People who are burdened by worries and preoccupations of this world, losing sight of the eternal perspective. In our minds, we let our circumstances overcome the power of God.
- Pleasures of life--By definition, pleasure is something enjoyable. Otherwise, if it was easy to deny, give up, or not do, it wouldn't be a sacrifice. Even if it feels good to us, we have to trust that God knows best and wait for His purposes and His timing.
- Fruit does not mature--There is fruit, but it stays at an immature state. The fruit is not brought to full maturity and completion. It has started, but has stopped growing.
As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an
honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience. (Luke 8:15)
- Hearing the word--(I'm not sure what tense the original Greek is, but...) hearing is not past tense, so we need to continually hear the Word.
- Hold it fast--we need to cling to the Word. So often, our lives will not make sense or we'll feel like God is not near. We need to cling to the Word because it is the truth and our feelings and emotions are not.
- Honest and good heart--We need to make our hearts places receptive to God. We need to uproot the bitterness and rage in our hearts so that the Word can take root in our hearts. We need to provide the right environment so that God can do His growing work in our hearts.
- Bear fruit--not only do we bear fruit in our own lives, but cause others to bear fruit too as we share the Good News with others
- Patience--when we share God with others, it takes time and lots of patience. The same with bearing good fruit in our lives, it takes time to rid ourselves of our old selves and put on our new selves.
