Where Are You Rooted?

"Tree roots anchor the tree in the soil, keeping it straight and stable, and absorb water from the soil. Tree roots also take nutrients out of the soil and use them to produce what they need for the tree’s growth, development, and repair." (from the internet)

 

I know, kind of an odd way to start a Vine Life blog...  Why on earth do you need to know about tree roots?  But Doug's sermon on Sunday (you're going to have to stay with me a little longer for this to make sense!) reminded me of something I read years ago, "A tree draws 98% of all that it needs for life through its roots."  I'm not an arborist, so I can't completely verify that percentage, but I know for certain that roots are essential to the growth and life of a tree...  And as a believer, our root system is equally important!

 

Colossians 2:6-7 says, "As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving."

 

"Rooted in Christ..."  If I think about my life compared to a tree, I need to ask myself...  Are my roots firmly anchored in Him?  Is He (and His Word) my nourishment?  Do I draw living water from Him?  Do I trust Him to be the source of all that I need?  Or am I looking somewhere else to find life?

 

In Doug's sermon, we saw how Lot trusted all the wrong things to give him the life he desired and if you remember, when God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, it caused him a lot of misery.  And that's what happens when we root our hearts in something (or someone) besides Christ.  We may not lose our physical life, like Lot's wife, but we lose the abundant life that Jesus came to give us!

 

Let's take a few minutes today and ask God to show us if we're trying to draw life from somewhere else besides Jesus.  I think it's pretty safe to say that most of us will have some area of our life that God, our Master Gardner, will show us is in need of some serious care.  Don't be afraid to surrender that area of your life to Him and trust Jesus to be the strength and portion of your heart (Psalm 73:26)!

Happy "heart" gardening!

Sharla