Following the stark warning against apostasy (Hebrews 6:4-6), the writer uses the same agricultural imagery that Jesus used in the Parable of the Sower (Mark 4:1-20). Land which 'drinks in the rain' is soft; it is good soil - not hard, rocky or down-trodden. Well-watered fertile land will produce a crop: that is the only purpose of sowing the seed. In the same way, the seed of the Word of God, the gospel of Jesus, is intended to grow and multiply in and through those who are ready to receive it. They will be people whose hearts are soft towards the Lord and truth, allowing the seed to germinate. Where there is room for the seedling to develop strong roots, so the plant will grow strong: and the crop will be a blessing to the Lord and all who 'taste the goodness of the Word of God' (Hebrews 6:5).

By contrast, thorns and thistles prevent the water penetrating the ground, and their roots compete with the seedling for nourishment and whatever water may be in the soil. The Lord Jesus said that these rampant weeds represent 'the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things' (Mark 4:19). Such personal preoccupations are incompatible with gospel-based faith and will always try to dethrone Jesus in a believer's heart. It is the subtle beginning of the road to apostasy.

The heart which is 'choked with life's worries, riches and pleasures' (Luke 8:14) is in great danger. It is not a prudent heart seeking to regulate the pressures according to God's Word. It is a faithless heart which believes the solution to worldly stresses and desires lies in intelligent human power: faith is abandoned, Jesus cannot save, and self-salvation is the only way forward. Such people are in great danger of traveling the road to apostasy where the seedbed of their hearts will be declared worthless and rejected from God's kingdom (Matthew 7:21-23).

The preceding three verses use Greek logic to warn city-based believers against moving their confidence away from Christ. Today's agricultural analogy would impact the many rural farm workers and managers. The message is the same: do not ever stop trusting Jesus and the gospel message. Do not let worldly pressures or fleshly desires compete for your heart against God's Word. Irreversibly falling away from Christ must be a real possibility otherwise there would be no such dire warnings. So we need fresh courage to keep on trusting the Lord and to hack back the jungle of thorny thistles as found in Hebrews 12:1-3. We need to take these warnings seriously and take action immediately.