4 Things to Keep You Deeply Rooted
Tis the time of year that every gardener begins to think about what to plant, where to plant and how to nourish the soil so that it will best feed the plant. All nature of things are fed to the compost, coffee grounds saved, manure secured, egg shells kept all in an attempt to create the most fertile soil. Numerous times God compares us with plants, “I am the vine you are the branches”, “oaks of righteousness”, “fruit of the spirit”, “vineyards”, “harvest fields”, and “lilies of the field”. His metaphor does not begin with what is produced but just like any other gardener; He begins with the soil. If I desire to bear the fruit of love, peace, joy, hope, trust, kindness, patience, and faithfulness, then I need to be planted in nourishing soil.
Last year my tomatoes got blight, so I can’t plant them in the same soil unless I want this year’s plants to suffer the same fate. It is the same with our lives if something we planted ourselves in (when I say “planted in” I’m referring to what we think, what we put our hope in, what we fill our time with, who we are with, what we watch, what we read, and what we listen to) produced the bad fruit of discouragement, discontentment, selfishness or depression then we want to make sure we don’t replant in that same soil.
God’s Word teaches us that there are four things we should plant ourselves in to be “a tree that always bears fruit”.
Plant yourself in the Love of God
“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. 18 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. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” Eph 3:17-19
One translation says, “being rooted and established in love”. A plant gains an established root system with time. It happens as a plant matures. It does not happen overnight. When a plant is first planted or transplanted, it needs extra attention; tenderness and care to make sure the roots are fully established. It is the same with our hearts if we want our roots established in His love then we must spend time receiving His love, learning more about His love, and believing that it is endless and unfailing. God thought of every directional word possible when describing the size of his love there is not place in our past, in our hearts or in our minds it cannot reach.
Plant yourself in the Word of God
“But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.” Ps 1: 2-3
If a thought is not truth, we do not want to continue to let it grow just like we wouldn’t let blight or any other pestilence continue to grow in our garden. We want to be as aggressive with destructive thoughts as we are with destructive diseases and insects in our garden. Left unchecked the pest will destroy all the fruit the garden produced; left unchecked a deceptive unhealthy thought will do the same.
Plant yourself in the Work of Christ
“Just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 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.” Col 2:6-7
The only way we can stay deeply rooted in nourishing life-giving soil is to know that we didn’t get planted in God’s love by our own merit or by being good enough, or by working hard enough, or by following all the right rules. We are here by the grace of Christ alone. His work on the cross has put us in God’s soil, and by living each day in His power and grace we will bear fruit.
Plant yourself in confidence of the Lord
“blessed are those who trust in the Lord
and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
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.” Jer 17:7-8
These verses stand in contrast to the previous verses comparing a man who depends on his own strength as a dry brittle desert bush. A heart that trusts Him and has confidence in Him to come through is like a tree by a stream; its roots always have a water source to reach down deep into. When our trust is in His provision, His power, His love, His ability, and His concern for us then bearing fruit and staying healthy just happen. The fruit doesn’t come in striving to produce, but in staying rooted in the right soil. A deeply rooted tree doesn’t fear drought, or storm, or wind because of the strength of the roots underneath unseen.
2017/03/16 at 9:01 pm