Our Father, keep us always in your family
In Jesus' parable of the sower, he tells us of things that can get on our way. Luke 8:14 has these words. "That which fell among the thorns, these are those who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity."
We've already looked at the wealth and riches, so today we'll look at 'cares'.
There are plenty of people we care about, but the important question is how do we care? Do we go to them or bring them to us?
What I mean by this is; do we forsake our commitments to Christ in order to be with someone we care about, or do we bring them into Christ's fold, to benefit from the promises of sins forgiven and eternal life in his kingdom? I think this is what Christ meant in this parable.
The same interaction can have two, opposing results. Either the 'cares' take us away from Christ and our work is 'choked' or we bring them to Christ, and so 'bear fruit'. It's the same seed; it's just where it ends up which is different. We have to see that we stay on the good ground and so bear fruit.
Relationships may be long lasting or temporary. Some people we meet we may never see again, others we may see for years or longer. But it's our relationship with Christ and God, his Father, that is the most important one we can have. Christ has given us the way to approach him, to be a part of his family. And that is the most important relationship we can have.