Stony Places

"Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower...

But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
Yet 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 13:18, 20-21

It has often struck me that this Scripture does not say how long "a while" is.
Is it a few months? A year? Five years? 10 or 20 years?

By not quoting a specific time frame, the Scripture implies that this scenario can be fulfilled at any time in our lives.

How dismaying to think that after a while of receiving God's Word with joy and seeming faithfulness, we would become unfruitful because, deeper down, our heart is stony! We must put forth all effort to keep our hearts softened, tilled with the plowshare of God's Word, and our roots deep in Him at all times.

And when tribulation or persecution arises (as they surely will, for "all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" --II Tim. 3:12), then we must pray diligently to understand God's Heart and Purpose that we not become offended and leave Him.

"For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them." --II Peter 2:21