In the last chapter we began to cover the mysteries of the kingdom from Matthew 13. We saw that the Lord Jesus is both the Sower and the seed. As He sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside which was hardened by the traffic of the world. Other seeds fell on stony ground where stones beneath the surface hindered their growth. Now we come to the next kind of earth, that which is filled with thorns. We should remember that the source of the thorns was the serpent (Gen. 3:18). In Matthew 13:22 the Lord Jesus told us that the thorns represent the anxiety of the age and the deceitfulness of riches. These thorns choke the growth of the Lord Jesus within us. We all are familiar with the anxiety of the age and the deceitfulness of riches.
In the United States it is easy for people to earn a living, but this situation is filled with temptations. These temptations arise from the cooperation between the modern things and our lusts. We need to earn a living in order to maintain our existence on the earth. With this there is no problem. However, Satan is very subtle. God's intention is for us to earn a living, but Satan's subtle design is to choke the growth of Christ within us. If we know the Lord's way, we will be happy to lower our standard of living rather than trying to lift it. We will continually encounter the temptation of raising our standard of living, of wanting better cars and bigger houses. It is an endless cycle of slavery. Satan wants to make us slaves to the standard of living. He will entice us to work harder and longer to make more money and then to occupy more time to spend the money. It is much wiser to simplify our living. This will save us considerable time. There is no need for us to work so hard and to occupy so much time in spending money. The care of this age is really a snare. Do not be trapped by it. Many Christians have fallen into this snare and have been trapped by the anxiety of this age.
On the contrary, many brothers and sisters have been willing to lower their standard of living for the sake of migration. They have sacrificed their standard of living, and this afforded them a way to migrate to various places. It is not an easy matter to migrate from one city to another. We are the real Hebrews, pilgrims on the earth. We are not settlers or dwellers. If the Lord allows, we will continue to take many more cities by the way of migration. However, if we are always trying to raise our standard of living, we are through with migration. As long as we have food, drink, and clothing, that is sufficient. We are not here for our standard of living; we live on this earth for the Lord's recovery.