October is the month to clean out flower beds, remove overgrown plants, and prepare the ground for the winter. Even if your summer garden was fruitful, invasive plants have also likely crept in. As trees shed leaves, neighbors aerate lawns and allow seeds to root deeply in the soil. For new growth to begin, we must remove the thorns.
Jesus uses a similar image to describe the condition of some disciples’ hearts. Despite a spring and summer full of new life growth, the thorns of materialism, wealth, sacrifice, and power creep in. We compare ourselves to others, long to be in the inner circle, and resent those with more power than us. Discoverers and disciples can have hearts where the “worldly cares, the lure of riches, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it bears no fruit” (Mark 4:19).
For example, in Mark 10, when the disciples meet a wealthy religious man, they are perplexed to learn that his wealth and religious duties have become thorns in his heart rather than a sign of God’s blessing. The disciples too must surrender their scoreboard to make room for God’s grace.
Jesus invites us to conduct a spiritual fall clean up on our hearts this month, and he supplies a few tools. He looks at us and loves us with the eyes of grace and compassion. He invites us to surrender our attachment to material success and the need to be recognized for our sacrifices. Instead of comparing our lives with others he teaches us to value every day as a gift from God and approach his throne to receive grace and mercy.