RUF Wednesday Night Fellowship 9.29.21. To live the “good life”, you need receptivity, roots, and relationships—people who love you, care about you, and who know a thing or two about the kingdom of God and the ways of following Jesus. If you don’t have people like that in your lives—who can point out the weeds and help you disentangle them—the life of Jesus is going to get squeezed out of you.

MARK 4:1-9, 14, 18-19 (NLT)

Once again Jesus began teaching by the lakeshore. A very large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat in the boat while all the people remained on the shore. 2 He taught them by telling many stories in the form of parables, such as this one:

3 “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed. 4 As he scattered it across his field, some of the seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it. 5 Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. 6 But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn’t have deep roots, it died. 7 Other seed fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants so they produced no grain. 8 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” 9 Then he said, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.

[Later, Jesus explained the parable to his disciples:] 14 The farmer plants seed by taking God’s word to others. […] 18 The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God’s word, 19 but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced.