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Luk 8:11 ESV Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Luk 8:12 The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Luk 8:13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. 1Pe 1:6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 1Pe 1:7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1Pe 1:8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 1Pe 1:9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. God tests us to see if when we are tested we will fall away or cling to Him and His promises.. We have all seen believers who seemed genuine, even pastors, fall away during testing. Perhaps they didn't get the thing they prayed for, or their loved one died tragically. They had some if's in their commitment to God. They were committed on their own terms not God's terms. He wants an all out commitment to Him from our hearts, that we will follow Him, no turning back. It is the familiar "for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health type of marriage to God. Only death will not part us but will fully join us to Him. He want's us to choose to be His slave for the long haul. Rom 6:16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? Rom 6:17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, Rom 6:18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. Rom 6:22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. Rom 1:1 LITV Paul, a slave of Jesus Christ, a called apostle, separated to the gospel of God, Jas 1:1 James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the Dispersion, greeting: 2Pe 1:1 Simon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those equally precious with us, having obtained faith in the righteousness of our God and our Savior, Jesus Christ: It was a custom for slaves who had been freed, who were grateful for the treatment they had received for their master, to give themselves back to Him to be His permanent slave. Christ freed us from bondage to satan and sin and paid for our release with His own blood--we were bought with a price. He made us His own and set us free. We are free to choose Him or go back to serving sin and selfishness. When we hate our former selves, where else can we go but to Jesus? We give ourselves to Him as His slaves out of love to serve Him.