Friday, January 11, 2013
I want to share two passages from the New Testament that share a common theme. The first is from Colossians 2: 6-7.
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
The second is from Ephesians 3:16-19.
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Both of these passages encourage us to be spiritually strengthened. Both teach us to live in Christ in order to do that. To live in his love. To live by faith. To overflow with thanksgiving because of Christ’s love and grace in our lives.
But one word caught my attention in these passages – “rooted”. To be rooted in Christ and His love. The key to spiritual strength and maturity is to be rooted. The word rooted gives us the idea of growing and being fruitful. I certainly want that to occur in my life, don’t you?
There is a big difference between roots and pipes. Both carry water but they do so in very different ways. Water passes through a pipe without having any positive effect on the pipe. In fact, the water will begin to corrode the pipe over time. But as water passes through the roots of a plant or tree, the stronger the root becomes. The deeper the root goes down. The healthier and more fruitful the tree becomes.
Let’s be encouraged to be rooted in Christ. To soak in his love, to soak in his grace and his truth.
Don’t be a lifeless pipe. Let’s be like what the psalmist wrote about “A tree firmly planted (or rooted) by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither” (Psalm 1:3).
Think about it. Are you a root or a water pipe?
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
The second is from Ephesians 3:16-19.
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Both of these passages encourage us to be spiritually strengthened. Both teach us to live in Christ in order to do that. To live in his love. To live by faith. To overflow with thanksgiving because of Christ’s love and grace in our lives.
But one word caught my attention in these passages – “rooted”. To be rooted in Christ and His love. The key to spiritual strength and maturity is to be rooted. The word rooted gives us the idea of growing and being fruitful. I certainly want that to occur in my life, don’t you?
There is a big difference between roots and pipes. Both carry water but they do so in very different ways. Water passes through a pipe without having any positive effect on the pipe. In fact, the water will begin to corrode the pipe over time. But as water passes through the roots of a plant or tree, the stronger the root becomes. The deeper the root goes down. The healthier and more fruitful the tree becomes.
Let’s be encouraged to be rooted in Christ. To soak in his love, to soak in his grace and his truth.
Don’t be a lifeless pipe. Let’s be like what the psalmist wrote about “A tree firmly planted (or rooted) by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither” (Psalm 1:3).
Think about it. Are you a root or a water pipe?
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