Rooted in Christ

Rooted in Christ

Rooted in Christ

Simone Weil has said “To be rooted is perhaps the most important and least recognized need of the human soul.” Being rooted is indeed one of our basic needs. Only when we are rooted we can grow. And when we are rooted in Christ, we can live forever.

 [Most] blessed is the man who believes in, trusts in, and relies on the Lord, and whose hope and confidence the Lord is. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters that spreads out its roots by the river; and it shall not see and fear when heat comes; but its leaf shall be green. It shall not be anxious and full of care in the year of drought, nor shall it cease yielding fruit. (Jeremiah 17:7-8, AMP,*)

When we grow deep in Christ, we can live tall. Sometimes people think God would prohibit their growth. But they could not be further from the truth. God wants to enable our fruitfulness and he knows it only happens when we are deeply rooted in Christ. Only trees that have strong roots can live large.

Have the roots [of your being] firmly and deeply planted [in Him, fixed and founded in Him], being continually built up in Him, becoming increasingly more confirmed and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and abounding and overflowing in it with thanksgiving. (Col. 2:7, AMP,’)

How can we then get our roots firmly and deeply planted in Christ? It happens when we spend time with him. By reading the Word of God. By praying. By listening to God. By spending time with God. By worshiping. By thanksgiving. By living with God.

God wants us to be deeply rooted in Christ and to know him intimately. Only then our lives can be what he wants for us. Only then we can be fruitful for him. Only then we can be what he meant us to be.

With the words of Henri J.M. Nouwen “When we are securely rooted in personal intimacy with the source of life, it will be possible to remain flexible without being relativistic, convinced without being rigid, willing to confront without being offensive, gentle and forgiving without being soft, and true witnesses without being manipulative.”

We would like to have all these fruits without planting ourselves deeply in God. But that’s not how it works. Growth does not happen over night. It does not happen without God. It does not happen by our command. But it does happen by grace of God when we are rooted in Christ.

So humble yourself. Have yourself deeply rooted in Christ. Be built up in Jesus. Become established in your faith. Grow deep. And live tall and beautiful. Be all that God meant you to be.

Gracious God,
Forgive me for looking for life in the wrong places.
You are the only source of real life.
I want to be firmly rooted in Christ.
I want to grow deep and live tall.
Bless my growth in you.
Enable me to be all you meant me to be.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen

Q4U: Are you rooted in Christ?

Be blessed, my fellow pilgrim, as you grow deep and live tall!

* [As you might have noticed, I enjoy reading the Bible in different translations and love comparing them. I have started linking the Bible verses to Biblegateway.com so you can easily read (and compare) them in the different versions I’ve used while preparing each post.]

Image courtesy of Cody Jensen. This post is refurbished from 2010. Linking up today with Unite the Bloggersphere , Three Word Wednesday and #tellhisstory.

4 thoughts on “Rooted in Christ

  1. Staying rooted in Christ is a moment by moment endeavor. There are so many things that can distract me from God’s goodness and abiding him is a choice. It is a choice seek Him first and loves others the way that he has called us to love them. Thank you for this very important reminder.

  2. I talk some about being rooted in Christ in my upcoming post so I was truly blessed by this message. Similar to what Jo Rose shared, I’ve been allowing other things to distract me from time with Him, but I so want to place Him first. Thank you for this, Mari-Anna. I’m always encouraged when I come here. Blessings.

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