Rooted And Growing

I have another hobby, a new one: I'm rooting plants. About fifteen years ago, I led services on a regular basis at a church in our area while they were without a pastor for a couple of years. In appreciation, they gave me a rosebush about which I wrote a devotional.

The rosebush is doing really well, and there is an abundance of flowers on it this year. We thought that we would like to have a couple of rosebushes in front of the house. So, I cut four twigs about three inches long, dipped them in a rooting gel, placed them in fresh soil in little pots, watered them well, and put a large jar over each one of them to act like a hothouse, to keep up the humidity, and to promote growth.

I had to water and check on them every day. Two of them rooted quite quickly. Now, after two months, there are new leaves on them, and one of them even has a tiny rosebud. In late September, I transplanted them to the place that we want them to be. Hopefully, they will keep on growing.

The apostle Paul must have had the same kind of thing in mind when wrote a letter to the Christians in the city of Colosse. Although it appears that he had never been to that city, he heard while in prison in Rome that they were being troubled by false teachers. So, he wrote to encourage them:

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. (NIV)

I looked up some articles on what it means to be rooted in Christ, and found a quotation from How to Live Rooted in the Lord: "It means being strengthened in faith, obeying the teaching of God's word. It means remaining in him and becoming fruitful in all we do, for the glory of God."

It's a lot like rooting the little roses. There is only so much that they can do for themselves, so I still have to care for them, water them, protect them from outside influences, and make sure that they will be doing well in their new environment.

Likewise, as we become rooted in Christ, there are things that we can do for ourselves. We have to choose to lead a good spiritual life so that we are nourished from God's Word and time in prayer. But we need God to care for us and protect us from the dangers all around us, and then, like the little roses, we can blossom and flourish.

Prayer: Our Father in heaven, we pray that with Your care and protection, we may become rooted in Christ, and that through our efforts, with Your blessing, more people will become rooted in Christ. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.