Luke 8:7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.

In Luke 8, Jesus gives us a parable about the seed and the sower. In it, He told us very clearly that the world and it’s cares will make all attempts to stop our Divine Purpose. The thorns that sprang up were explained in verse 14 – Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.

Many spend much time praying about purpose. Yet, the very things blocking that purpose are not addressed. The price is too high. The cost is too great. There’s pain in following passion. Fears and doubts assail.

God does not till the soil in our gardens… we do. God does not control the thorns… we do.

We either water the seeds or we water the weeds. Water takes the form of focus. We focus money, talents, time, and love through acts of choice. Like plants, that which receives more focus grows in our lives more. That which receives less focus grows less. We control the focus.

How brilliant that Jesus used thorns in the parable – sharp, painful to pull, hard to get rid of, will draw blood when mishandled, will grow out of control when left unchecked. The longer left unaddressed… the more difficult to bring under control. How wonderfully appropriate.

We pray that God will solve our issues, open our doors. When the issues remain and the doors stay closed, we cry out in frustration, griping, grumbling. We blame people. We blame circumstances. We blame God. Surely, the blame cannot rest in our own failure to address the thorns we see growing in our gardens. Surely, the fault cannot be mine.

The question is: are we tending our garden? Are we tearing up the weeds and watering the seeds? Are we braving the thorns and tearing them out by the roots, risking loss of blood and enduring pain in the process? Or are we sitting on the wall and asking God to do it all?

Philippians 4:13 says – I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Notice the verse starts with “I” and ends with “me”. There is personal price in following purpose. Many read this verse as – Christ, You do it all and I’ll watch. That’s not what it says though.

Make no mistake and understand: There is a price in purpose… a cost in calling… a pain in passion. If we want the promise, we must engage the process.

Luke 9:23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

God does not promise ease. He promises His Strength, His Presence, His Provision, but He doesn’t promise ease. He promises He will never leave us nor forsake us, but He does not say He won’t challenge us. John 16:33 says that we will have trials and tribulations when we follow Christ.

But, we want ease. We want to serve God, but we want it to be easy. “God, I’m ready to serve you, as long as the salary is right, I don’t have to move, I always have enough money and food, and my children can attend the same school. I’m ready to serve, as long as the church makes me smile, no one says anything hurtful, and everyone does everything my way. I’m ready to do great things for you Lord, as long as I’m not asked to lead, and not asked to follow, and not asked to do anything that I don’t find fun.” In other words, we’ll serve God in the absence of all difficulty. Let’s be honest… this serves no one but self.

When we set out to serve God, we serve knowing there will be difficulties. There will be hard days. There will be sickness. There will be people we disagree with. There will be money concerns. There will be times children stray. There will be unbelieving spouses. There will be friends who turn their backs. There will be family that question the calling.

We serve God, not in the absence of difficulties, but through the difficulties.

I often hear people say, “God won’t put anymore on me than I can stand.” It makes God sound like the logistics clerk and us the “strong person”. God says, “I will not put more on you than I can stand.” He will place whatever His Will requires in our life and, in our weakness, we must cry to Him to carry us. We must call on Christ to strengthen us. If we’re always strong enough to carry what God gives, we’re making ourselves out to be God and able to take on whatever He dishes out. Or, more likely, we’re simply not taking on much for Him.

God or Self? Difficulty or Ease? Is God the Vehicle carrying us or is He the clerk loading us? Expecting ease brings unnecessary difficulty into our daily walk with Him. Expect provision, love, strength, grace, mercy, compassion… expect challenge, trials, persecution, and tribulation. Expect no ease.

We serve God, not in the absence of difficulties, but through the difficulties. Presence of ease may indicate lack of service.

Matthew 13:33 Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.”

In physics, there’s an interesting phenomenon called the “Observer Effect.” It states that, simply by observing, the thing being observed is changed. Similar effects can be found in economics, psychology, sociology, human relationships, and even information technology. Presence impacts people and things in the environment, even when there is no intention to impact. Simply by being present, there is an impact.

What is the impact your presence brings? We must be aware that we have an impact on people, places, and things no matter whether we intend to have the impact or not. We bring beliefs, attitudes, talents, experiences, emotions, and many other individual offerings to all interactions. The offering is as unique as the individual bringing it. Some bring impact unconsciously and some bring impact consciously, but all bring impact.

Being conscious of the impact of our presence allows us to choose how we will impact. Choosing positive over negative, love over hate, acceptance over rejection, courage over fear, and understanding over divisiveness allows us to use our presence to improve our surroundings.

Notice that the leaven in the scripture was a small thing that caused an “impactful” change. It takes only one person, acting in a constructive or destructive way, to change a large environment. It’s true of business environments. It’s true of families. It’s true of churches.

Proverbs 29:2 says – When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Notice that one wicked man can cause the people to not only stop rejoicing, but to actually begin to groan. A single bad egg spoils it all. We’ve all experienced this. One person spoils the mood of the family gathering. One person changes the mood of the office. If you’ve never had this experience, it may be that you are that one person…

Be positive in presence. Be the person who makes others rejoice by your coming and not by your going. There’s an old joke that says – everyone brings joy… some by showing up and others by leaving.

What is the impact your presence brings? Being an observer doesn’t negate your impact. Be an active participant in how you impact others. Choose to have your presence make a positive, loving impact and improve your environment wherever you find yourself. Be the leaven of Christ and not the leaven of the Pharisees. Jesus spoke of both – one kind leads to the Kingdom of Heaven and the other leads to separation from God.

Proverbs 16:24 Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.

We’ve all heard someone say – it’s not what they said, but how they said it! In fact, most of us have either said or thought this at one time or another. The words were true, but how they came out made them ineffective because of the way they came out.

I once counseled a young woman from New Jersey. She was upset that people reacted angrily to her suggestions. They closed off. They argued. They refused to hear even the most plainly positive suggestions. She asked me why. My response shocked her – It’s not your words, but the texture of your speech that’s the obstacle.

Speech has texture. Much like a silk handkerchief feels good on the nose, but a steel wool pad doesn’t, so our words come with texture. The good news is that we get to choose what words we use and thereby control the texture. We need not choose steel wool when silk will serve the purpose and leave no mark.

A craftsman chooses his tool very carefully. He doesn’t use a sledgehammer to seat decorative tacks in a cabinet face. He uses a small tack hammer. He doesn’t swing like he’s breaking rock, but like he’s gently seating a tack. He uses the smallest nail that will do the job adequately.

Too often, in our speech, we send a chainsaw to do what fine sandpaper will accomplish. We fell the tree rather than trim the branch. We use words that are abrasive and unkind when gentle and kind words are the tool most needed. We “set them straight”, “get our point across”, “give them what for”, and sit and wonder why our message is rejected and a battle ensues.

I know no one wants to hear this, but this is the speakers failing. The problem lies not with the receiver, but with the sender. The sender has chosen the wrong time, tool, or texture. Success is more likely when we first consider: Are my words from a place of love? If not, stop. Are my words gentle? If not, stop. Are my words kind? If not, stop.

Choose the texture of communication first, match the words to the texture, then time the message appropriately. It’s seldom our words, but rather the texture of our speech that leads to hurt. Be Gentle, Be Kind, Be Love.