Mark 4:19 CEB

...but the worries of this life, 

the false appeal of wealth, 

and the desire for more things break in and choke the word, 

and it bears no fruit.  

Mark 4:19 CEB

Our friend Mark who wrote this couldn't even imagine the "worries of this life" could he?

Would he understand grief and loss and losing the people we care about the most?

Would he understand the threat of disease, or wars, or famine, or hardship?

Would he know what it's like not to think you fit in anywhere, don't belong, are rejected, not enough?

Maybe he would know what it's like to be treated differently because of your ethnicity or religion, and that any of these things can choke off the seed that has been planted in us that wants to thrive and flourish and bear fruit.

Maybe he was never bombarded by messages to consume or buy, but he does seem to recognise the heart's desire for more & what that can do.

Jesus does, because these are his words, not to comdemn, but to shine a light on our condition, to help us see in ourselves what may need a nudge, a shift, a reorientation, to let the seed planted in us thrive, and bear fruit.

What needs to shift?

#gospelofMark #GoodNews 

#invitation