By the seed which fell upon the rock are meant those who, as soon as they hear the Message, welcome it joyfully; but they have no root, and believe it only for a time, and, when the time of temptation comes, they draw back.
May God, who inspires our hope, grant you perfect happiness and peace in your faith, till you are filled with this hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
It is through him that, by reason of our faith, we have obtained admission to that place in God's favor in which we not stand. So let us exult in our hope of attaining God's glorious ideal.
And this he did that the blessing given to Abraham might be extended to the Gentiles through their union with Jesus Christ; that so, through our faith, we also might receive the promised gift of the Spirit.
And as for what must have tried you in my condition, it did not inspire you with scorn or disgust, but you welcomed me as if I had been an angel of God--or Christ Jesus himself!
In our strong affection for you, that seemed to us the best way of sharing with you, not only God's Good news, but our very lives as well--so dear had you become to us.