Growing Roots

“But 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.”
Jeremiah 17:7-8 NLT

Last week we started talking about what it means to be personally rooted in Christ. We determined that the starting place is having a personal relationship with Christ.
This week we need to talk about what it takes to grow our roots. Our verse likens us to a tree that is planted by a water source; the tree puts out roots that find their way to the water it needs to give it life. That water brings the nutrients and food that the tree needs to live and flourish. The same principle is true for us in our spiritual life. When we start our relationship with Christ we need to put our roots into the person and character of Christ and into the living Word of God, then allow the Holy Spirit to begin to mold us into the likeness and image of Jesus. The more we learn about God and yield ourselves to his will, the stronger and deeper our roots will grow, causing us to grow in our Christ-likeness. Practically this happens in our lives when we read, study, and meditate on the Word of God, when we take a Bible or theology class or are involved with other believers in a small group living out the one another’s of the faith. The Word of God is our food that provides the nutrition that makes us healthy.
This all sounds good and easy, right? The struggle is, even when we are putting down new roots into Christ, we are often struggling with roots that are feeding us things from our culture that are in direct contrast to what God is telling us. These two foods will fight one another. So, there are two parts in our growing, putting down new roots in Christ and killing our worldly or fleshly roots.
How well have you been doing at tending your roots?

-Pastor Tim