Matthew 13:6, 216And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. (Matthew 13:6)
21Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. (Matthew 13:21); Mark 4:6, 176But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. (Mark 4:6)
17And 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 4:17)
Suppose I hire two men to set out trees, and after a day or two I go out to see how they are getting along. I find that one man has set out a hundred trees, and the other only ten. I say:
“Look here; what does this mean? That man has set out a hundred trees, and you have set out only ten. What does it mean?”
“Yes, but he has cut off all the roots, and just stuck the tops into the ground.”
I go to the other man, and say: “What does this mean? Why have you planted all of these trees without roots?”
“I don’t believe in roots; they are of no account. My trees look just as well as his.”
But when the sun blazes upon the trees, they all wither and die.
There are a lot of people running around who haven’t got any roots. A good many live on negations. They are always telling what they don’t believe. I want a man to tell me what he does believe, not what he does not believe. And I like to meet a positive man. We just want to know what men do believe. We don’t want trees that haven’t any roots, for they will dry up when the sun blazes on them. There are a good many persons that are going on without any foundation; they have no faith.