Thanks to Lou for sharing her thoughts.
Over the last few weeks, my attention has been caught by the number of references in the Bible to roots.
Colossians 2: 6-7 says: and now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him, then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.
I love the image of planting my roots deep down into Christ. Just as a tree gets nutrients from the ground, we can be fed all we need by having our roots firmly planted in the Lord. When we read his word, he uses it to speak to us and strengthen us. His word also guides us in the way we should live. The Holy Spirit directs us In our day to day lives when we invite him to do so, we then have to listen, and allow him to guide and direct us, taking the steps he is urging us to take.
Prayer is another way of deepening our roots into the Lord. Think of a plant that has just one straight root. That is going to be more easily uprooted than a plant with many offshoots from its root. Each time we pray, we are making a connection with God, each one of those connections is like adding more offshoots to our root system, therefore creating a stronger connection to God. The more we nurture and strengthen our relationship with the Lord, the more our faith in him grows. In human terms, we are more likely to trust someone who has proven their trustworthiness. We don’t know we can trust someone until we are in the position of needing to put our trust in them.
When I was twelve and my friend Lesley thirteen, we went on holiday with my Mum near the sea. Lesley wanted to learn to swim, so I was helping her. She was kicking her legs, while I held her hands and walked backwards through the water, which was almost up to my shoulders. All of a sudden, the sand beneath my feet disappeared and I couldn’t touch the bottom. I calmly announced to Lesley, “It’s getting colder here, let’s turn around.”
Lesley offered to put her feet down, but knowing she would find nothing beneath them, I said, “No, I’ll pull you around.” I knew I couldn’t hold Lesley up if she panicked. I turned us around and Did some funny sort of thing with my legs to get us back to where I could touch the bottom again. It was once we were completely out of the see that I told Lesley what had happened. Her response was, “I would have panicked and pulled us both under!” Through the experience we shared, she knew she could trust me in similar situations and was always happy to go into the water with me.
We know we can trust God, but we need to fully experience that in our relationship with him to make us more confident in our trust of him. We must learn to rely on him in all areas of our lives and we will soon see how he guides us and provides for us in every situation.
Jeremiah 17: 5-8 says:
This is what the Lord says: cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength, and turn their hearts away from the Lord. They are like stunted shrubs in the desert with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness in an uninhabited salty land. But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a river bank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat, or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green and they never stop producing fruit.
This doesn’t mean that those who put their trust in the Lord won’t have to experience the heat or the drought. Devastation can occur all around the tree, other trees around them may wither and die, The tree planted on the river bank may have to live in a reduced capacity, maybe drawing less water from the river than usual, but it will survive. It reminds me of my favourite hymn we used to sing in primary school called the Water of Life. The last verse says: “Nobody can live who hasn’t any water, when the land is dry then nothing much grows. Jesus gives us life if we drink his living water, sing it so that everybody knows! There’s water, water of life! Jesus gives us the water of life, there’s water, water of life! Jesus gives us the water of life.”
In chapter 3 of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he writes: “I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his spirit, Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.”
While watching an online service the other week, I was struck by something which was said. There are apparently huge trees which are 250-350 feet tall. They have an extremely wide base, up to about thirty foot across, I think. These trees have very shallow roots, as little as six feet deep. Amazingly these trees stay standing, even in storms. The reason for this is that, although the trees only have shallow roots, their root network can stretch out one hundred feet around the tree. As well as this, the roots interlock with the roots of other trees which enables them to all support one another. The message given here was, “Don’t be a tree on its own, be a tree in a forest.
That really spoke to me, especially as the idea of being rooted was already bouncing around in my mind. I love how God confirms things for us. I was chatting to a friend and we were discussing how we both enjoy being outside among all God’s beautiful creation. She then told me how she’d heard someone speaking about trees, referring to Adam and Eve being placed by god in the first garden, then also the tree of life in revelation. She also said that trees spread some roots near the surface and how they intertwine their roots with other trees to support them and pass on nutrients. I love the way God can use other people to confirm the way we should be going.
As Christians, it’s so important to surround ourselves as much as possible with other Christians. We don’t need to cut out those who aren’t Christians, otherwise they would never see Christ’s love in us and through us, but we do need that support that only other Christians can give us.
This last year and a half has been difficult for all of us in one way or another. There have been times when it hasn’t been possible to physically meet together. During those times, it’s been even more important to reach out and support one another in whatever way we can. Online services and meetings have been a real blessing and I’m extremely thankful we live in a time where this can happen. It’s true that many people who would never have entered a church building before have drawn closer to God through online church, it’s also wonderful for those who are physically unable to get to a church. It’s been an amazing gift to see us through a difficult time, but it’s not enough for us to do this permanently. Chocolate is a wonderful gift to receive, but we can’t survive on chocolate alone. We need the healthy nourishment of meeting together and supporting one another. We need to interlock our roots with those of other believers. Together we need to grow deeper into Christ.
I know I need to apply this to my own life. I could so easily get lost in a world of writing and not be sociable because that’s sometimes easier, but it’s not healthy. I need to be surrounded by other Christians, where we can all support and strengthen one another.
We can all reflect on where we are rooted and what the soil is like, , as well as where our roots stretch out and interlock with those of other believers.