ROOTLESSNESS ALERT!

And in the same way the ones sown upon stony ground are those who, when they hear the Word, at once receive and accept and welcome it with joy; and they have no real root in themselves, and so they endure for a little while; then when trouble or persecution arises on account of the Word, they immediately are offended (become displeased, indignant, resentful) and they stumble and fall away. Mark 4:16-17 (AMPC)

REFERENCE
Mark 4:1-6, & 16-17

We live in an age where there is an increased effort by the devil to uproot Christians and cause them to fall away. Those who are not rooted in Christ will be his easy victims, and that is already happening on a daily basis. Many are not in church today for no serious reason, many are cold in their commitment to the Lord, lost the passion they earlier had, and others will deny the Lord for just any reason…all of these are symptoms of rootlessness.

In the parable of the sower, Jesus paints the picture of those that are rootless; let’s study them and glean some vital lessons from them:

Firstly, they are described as ‘stony ground’ not having much earth (depth) and so, when the Word is planted in them, it springs up immediately. The Word can’t bear fruit in them because they don’t have enough ‘depth’ to cultivate it to fruit bearing stage. People like this are more concerned about ‘displaying’ quick fruits than forming roots – they like to look like they are equally planted, but there is no depth to them.

Secondly, these set of people are the ones that when they hear the Word preached, are excited and receive it with joy. However, they do nothing beyond that – they neither interact nor practice it, even though they call it ‘good preaching;’ therefore, they develop no roots from it. They wait till the next time the Word is preached to have another ‘excitement’ fix, and so the cycle continues.

Thirdly, they can only endure for a while; they cannot stay committed for the long haul because continuity in anything is a function of rootedness. They stumble in times of tribulation and persecution; for the devil will contend with every Word you hear. The ‘heat of the sun’ (pressures of life) easily burns them off because of their rootlessness. Interestingly though, the same sunlight that fosters the growth of rooted plants is responsible for the death of rootless plants.

From this parable, it is evident that rootlessness stems from having a hardened heart towards the Word, being apathetic in spiritual matters, and a lack of commitment in following God in all seasons of life.

Any Christian not rooted will soon wither away and that is not God’s will for you. If you fall in the category of rootless Christians, today is a brand new opportunity to address the issue and make adjustments where necessary.

PHOTO QUOTE

ADDITIONAL STUDY
Jeremiah 17:7-8, Matthew 21:18-19, & James 1:22-25

PRAYER POINT
Ask God to give you victory over the things that won’t allow you grow deep roots in Him; and for a hunger that will make you continually seek growth in your life and pant after Him.