Study With Me (Mark 4:16-17)

Welcome back to another study session! Yes, I'm doing Mark again, because I'm reading through it and there's a lot of juicy stuff in there. XD

The Verses

And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.

(All verses taken from the ESV translation)

My Thoughts

The parable of the sower has always fascinated me. Maybe it's because I enjoy observing and categorizing people, like with personality typing. Maybe it's because it's one of the few parables with a solid, comprehensible explanation. Maybe there is no reason.

Whatever the case, through all my times of studying it and hearing sermons on it, I never noticed this before:

And these are the ones sown on rocky ground; ...they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while... [then] fall away." -Mark 4:16-17

A root in themselves? Shouldn't our roots be in Christ and him alone?

After a bit of pondering, I came to this conclusion: you need a root of Christ in yourself or your faith will not survive the tough times. This is not to say, "Trust yourself, or else!" No, I think what this passage is pointing out is that our faith must be personal.

Guys, a faith that is strong solely because of the people around you will weaken and quite possibly crumble as soon as they are gone.

Let me ask you a hypothetical real quick. If China conquered the U.S. (or whatever country you're in) next year and began persecuting Christians here with jail time, discrimination, physical threats, just the whole kit-and-caboodle, would you fall away? If so, why? If not, why not?

Your parents' faith is not your faith. Neither is your pastor's or friends'. You cannot hitchhike on someone else's faith. You will jump ship as soon as there is a problem.

I'm willing to bet that many of you are already aware of this and have committed your own life to Christ. So how strong is that root within you?

Let's do a quick test. When was the last time you...

• Read your Bible in personal study?

• Learned something from that study?

• Applied something from that study/changed a way you live because of that study?

• Talked with God beyond your list of prayer requests?

• Talked with a friend (or family member) about God?

• Felt God's presence?

For me, all of those things have helped me grow my own root outside of others' teachings. I'm definitely not a "strong Christian" yet, but I'm learning (I hope 🙈 XD).

Bottom line: growing in your faith is hard, but worth it.

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What are some ways you can strengthen your root in yourself? How can you encourage others to do the same? Do you like categorizing people? What is your favorite parable?

Until next time,

Take courage, pursue a personal relationship with God, and smile while you still have teeth!! ;)

-Joelle