Matthew warns us that even disciples who spent years with Jesus proved susceptible to such hardship, although their roots were secure enough to return (26:56, 75). I soberly recall that many friends who became followers of Jesus at the same time I did, including some of my witnessing partners, later abandoned the faith. God is less interested in how quickly we run at the beginning of the race than in whether we truly finish it (compare Jn 8:30-47). Some will fall no matter how plainly we preach the truth, but we definitely set people up for failure when we fail to instruct new believers that suffering comes with following Christ (Acts 14:22; 1 Thess 3:3-4).