I am a big fan of winter believe it or not. I love the changing of the seasons and way that the leaves signal the shift about to happen, but for some reason this particular winter felt extra cold and dark. As I walked through the quiet wooded roads of eastern Pennsylvania, near my family home, I saw something that suddenly snapped me from my seasonal depression. Looking closely, I saw that near the roots of the bushes and trees there were signs of new life. Green buds were signaling the end of the long winter. Something stuck out to me about all of this. The new life was starting near the ground, close to the roots. Life comes from the roots. Growth begins at the roots. What I am rooted in is where growth and life come from.
I have been in seasons where I was not yielding healthy fruit, and it had everything to do with what I was rooting myself in. As women we so easily believe the lies of, I’m not good enough, I’m not pretty enough, I am always going to be stuck here, I cannot get through this. We choose to root ourselves in popularity, the perfect Instagram post, and the way people view us. Sometimes I think we even root ourselves in good things like motherhood, career, friendship, spouse. We receive life somewhere whether that is from people or things or whether we choose to find life in Christ. And eventually, no matter how much we try to mask it, the fruit of our lives begins to reveal the roots.
Healthy fruit comes from being rooted in Christ. He is the life source. Colossians 2:7 states it clearly, “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude” (NASB, 1995). Just like the roots of an evergreen tree, Christ is the one that can truly bring stability and nourishment to our being.
So how do we become rooted in the Lord? Its starts with a relationship. Understanding, believing, and accepting that Jesus came to earth to save us from our sins and give us eternal life. It is a gift of grace. When we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior then comes the call: “Follow Me”. We walk into discipleship with the Lord as we follow him.
Being a disciple of Jesus, being firmly rooted and built up, requires time in prayer and thanksgiving. It also requires being rooted and grounded in the Word of Christ. It is through Scripture that the Lord reveals himself in written form. Therefore, abiding in the Word becomes vital to our lives as followers of Jesus. Abiding in the Word requires consistent and committed time spent engaging with Scripture. The Bible is our very bread and life. This means that we spend time reading, digesting, meditating, engaging, and then responding. John 8:31 says, “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” We find freedom when we know truth and we find this truth nestled in the words and revelation of Jesus Christ. Frederick Crombie expounds upon this: “…for divine truth is the substance of the logos of Christ, Christ Himself is its possessor and vehicle; and the knowledge of it commences when a man believes inasmuch as the knowledge is the inwardly experienced, living, and moral intelligence of faith from slavery, i.e. from the determining power of sin (Crombie 277).”
Being firmly rooted in Christ then means that we have a steadfast and purposeful life. It does not mean that trials will not come. It does not mean that we will not experience terrible, no good, very bad days. What it does mean is peace we cannot understand (see Philippians 4:7) and joy that gives us strength (see Nehemiah 8:10). And as we become firmly rooted we can develop a fruitful life. A fruitful life that leads to deep fellowship and community with those around us. Firmly rooted in Christ leads to firmly rooted in community.
Connection:
- What are some things you feel you are “rooted” in right now, and how does that impact your daily life or decisions?
- What does it mean to you to “abide in the Word” and how does that impact your spiritual walk and relationship with God?
- What does a healthy, rooted community look like to you, and how do you nurture those relationships?
- What does it mean to you to live a fruitful life in Christ, and what are some of the fruits you hope to cultivate?
