Monday Morning Devotion-August 3. 2020
Rocky Times
The rocky soil represents those who hear the message with joy. But like young plants in such
Soil their roots don't go very deep. They believe for a while, but they wilt when the hot winds of testing blow. Luke 8:13
I have a history with rocks. Back when I was a kid and we lived up on this red clay hill
in Macon, Georgia no other kids lived in our neighborhood. So, I had to entertain myself a lot especially in the summer when school was out.
I had an early love for the game of baseball and really kept up with the local minor league team the Macon Peaches. I can still remember the names of most of those players from back in the day. Won't say what day because you might think I'm an old duffer now.
We didn't have a lot of money back in those days so I had to be creative. I made up a game, that in a child's vision represented a real game of baseball. It was called batting rocks. Didn't have a baseball, so I used rocks. Didn't have a bat so I used a broom handle.
Anyway, to make a long-story short I would get the sports page of the Macon Telegraph newspaper to check out the lineup and game story of the Macon Peaches, my favorite minor league team. I would spread the sports page on the ground, next to my pile of rocks, and it was "game on."
I would bat those rocks out into a field and broadcast what happened as I recreated the game. Needless to say, Macon won most of the time. OK, I have to be honest they pretty much won every time. Hey, my ball game. My rocks.
So, from this "rocky" start came my sportscasting/writing career. I write this to point out that rocks can serve a good purpose or a not-so-good one.
In the gospel of Luke we find a parable that Jesus used to make a point about the different degrees of believing. He talked about a farmer sowing seeds and hoping for a good harvest. The seeds in this parable represent the Word of God.
In this particular example "rocks" ain't good. You see some of those seeds that the farmer was distributing fell on places that looked promising for the plants to grow but they were deceptive. If beneath the soil, there were layers of hard rock here's what would happen.
Those plants would grow up quickly completely fooling the farmer. The rocks would keep a good root system from developing. Without this support they would wither and die.
Jesus uses this example of rocky ground faith to have the people examine their hearts.
Did they really hear, believe and practice what the Word was saying? Oh yeah, these kinds of pseudo-believers put on a good show.
Their initial excitement, upon hearing the word, was impressive but it did not go deep enough. It was, so to speak "on-the-rocks." When it got to the point that they had to "practice-what-they-preached" (am I using enough trite sayings?) they could not "fill-the-bill."
Charles Stanley writes: "As we examine our hearts and see how we are progressing in our Christian life we must guard against 'Rocky Soil Faith.' The kind of faith that has no roots. It's likened to the internal issues we wrestle with and may not realize how deep they go."
The rocks in today's scripture did not serve a good purpose. They were deceptive. You couldn't see them. They did their dirty work underground. But rocks can be good even beyond serving as baseballs in a kid's game.
How about this one: Jesus is the rock of our salvation. Or the lyrics that go: "On Christ the solid rock I stand?" ("The Solid Rock by Edward Mote, 1834)
When Jesus quizzed his disciples about who He was Simon Peter said: "You are the Christ, The Son of the living God." That drew this response from Jesus:" Blessed are you Simon, son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not overcome it."
In some places in the Bible we find the term stones instead of rocks. So what is the difference: I researched this in a 2016 devotion ("Batting Rocks"-July 25, 2016): "Rocks have had a role in Bible characters as well. Now in some places they are called rocks and some they are called stones. So I decided to look up the difference between a rock and a stone. I wish I hadn't. Who knew that geologists could go into such detail about the difference between a rock and a stone? I don't really care about the difference. Hey, those make-believe baseballs I had were rocks I don't care what the geologists say."
Basically, after you wade through all the scientific explanations of the differences. I think what it boils down to is: rocks are larger and rougher than stones which are generally smaller and smoother. People got "stoned" in the Bible; not rocked.
David rocked the giant Goliath, but the Bible says As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him. Reaching into his shepherd's bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it from his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in and Goliath stumbled and fell face downward to the ground. 1 Samuel 17: 48-49.
Sometimes it seems like a matter of semantics to me as to whether it was a rock or a stone. I guess if you were building a house it might make a difference. But if I picked up my imaginary baseball and a Macon Peaches player hit a home run it wouldn't matter to me if he did it off of a rock or a stone.
The point of all this being that we are going through what could be called rocky times these days with the coronavirus wreaking havoc and the uncertainty of how it is going to be defeated, it is important to remember that Jesus is our faithful hope for victory.
Our faith must have roots and we must consistently seek His wisdom for deeper answers. He is faithful to lead us through the briars and brambles of these difficult days. He is rock solid, and his promises have roots.
Prayer: Jesus, our trust is in you because you are the solid rock who is always trustworthy. Amen!