Let Your Roots Grow Deep

"And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow Him. 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."
(Colossians 2:6,7, The New Living Translation)

I want to share with you the cry of my heart. My spirit aches with the desire to stir up hunger and thirst for God's precious Word within each of you, my readers. For too long, our churches have kept us on milk, when actually spiritual maturity requires meat - the meat of the Word. Granted, if you give a newborn solid food before he or she is ready, they will choke. BUT. Once that child is 7 or 8...25 or 30? It's high time they begin to chew on some meat.

Or, better yet, get out a shovel and DIG!

That sounded critical, didn't it? I'm sorry. It's just that there is such a wealth of riches untold in His Word. Sometimes I feel like I will bust because I want so much to ignite a flame within those I come in contact with. It is sad to me that most of us do not know what our Bibles contain. The Word of God is His love letter to us. It is our inheritance. It is a fountain of Living Water beckoning to us to come and drink, to drink deeply of its life source.

The Lord wants us to feast on His Word every day.

Paul told the Church at Colosse after they had accepted Jesus as their Lord they were to follow Him - become His disciple, to walk out their faith IN Him. He wanted them to take the next step. Paul wanted them to KNOW the One in Whom they had believed.

Isn't it interesting that we are told to let our 'roots' grow deep?

Consider Isaiah 61:1-3, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified."

"That they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified."

Can you see God's purposes here?

JESUS came to set us free, to heal our broken hearts, to comfort and console, to forgive us of our sins so that we could be reconciled to our Creator. With what result? That we would be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord. Why? That He might be glorified through us.

Every tree begins with a tiny seed. But then that seed takes root. It sends out a tap root to find the stream of water that will sustain it during the harshest of droughts. Before long a precious sprout breaks through the hard crust that held it captive and stretches its branches toward the sun.

And then it grows and drinks and basks in the light of day.
And then it grows some more and drinks and basks in the light of day.

And before too long that tiny seed has grown into a mighty oak or a delicate dogwood. Perhaps the seed becomes a Cedar of Lebanon or a red-leaf maple bringing joy to all that partake of its glory.

The point is: the seed GREW and glorified its Creator.

Beloved, LET your roots grow deep. LET your lives be built on Him. An adventure awaits that cannot be described. The Lord will reveal His mysteries to you. You will learn to hear His voice, to recognize His promptings. You will know beyond the shadow of any doubt that you are not alone and that you are loved beyond comprehension.

I'm excited! Just think...the planting of the Lord, rooted in Him, established in Him, becoming like Him.

"So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord - Who is the Spirit - makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image." (2 Corinthians 3:18)

Father, This was another strong word that You have given us, but we thank You for loving us enough to care. We know that You desire Your best for us, and that best can only come by learning Who You are and who we are to You. I ask You to stir up that hunger within us. Ignite the flame of Your Holy Spirit and set us aglow with Your love. Enlighten the eyes of our hearts to understand Your Word. Awaken our hearts to love You more. Thank You, Father. We give You praise.