What Did You Expect?
And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended. -Mark 4:16-17
In the parable of the sower and the seed, there is one category of people that are quite intriguing.: it’s the group that Jesus says are like seeds that fall on stony ground: which spring up and grow immediately, but when the sun comes out, they have no true root, and die.
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With no roots, the plant quickly perishes.
I believe that this group of people were never truly saved at all: seeing as how the seed of God’s word never really took root in their heart. They are those that intellectually accept Jesus Christ, and view Him as their savior, but it never gets from their head to their heart. In essence, they have a hard and stony heart, where God’s grace cannot penetrate below the surface and grow.
The wrong motives
Partially, I believe that people in the “stony hearts” group are seeking God for the wrong reasons. Perhaps they are seeking to add Jesus as an “add-on” to their life, to further enhance their already successful endeavours. But when they encounter difficulty, or persecution, they quickly wither away and renounce their original beliefs.
But what can be done to prevent this falling away?
Getting the full picture
Why should persecution or difficulty result in a person losing their faith? If we had a fuller picture, as of that revealed in Scripture, we would know that persecution is not only to be expected, but it is to be celebrated:
Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. -Luke 6:22-23
Do we truly believe these verses? Do we truly apply them to our lives? If we did, we would not fall away from the faith in adversity, but instead, being thoroughly convinced of the gospel’s truth, we would be encouraged by persecution.
Take the example of apostles, which had seen Christ’s power firsthand, and were totally convinced of the words that Jesus spoke to them about persectuion. For when they were arrested for sharing their faith, they weren’t weakened, but rather grew even more bold:
[W]hen they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. -Acts 5:40-42
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