I spent the afternoon with my hands in the dirt. It was marvellous. I’m preparing my garden for growth. Getting the soil just right so that when the plants are ready to sink in they will be met with a wonderful environment. As I had my hands in the dirt I found myself transplanting the tiniest shoot of rhubarb to a newer, happier home. My neighbour kept accidentally stepping on it last year so it never had the change to blossom and produce. As I dug around to find the root I was amazed at how deep it went for such a tiny plant. The root was strong even if the plant seemed weak. It was incredible.
As I moved on from the rhubarb I found myself pulling weeds and attempting to get every last piece of them so they don’t come back. Roots matter. Some weeds like the moss that grows along the back patio are easy to remove. The roots are weak and useless to any force that might come upon it. The dandelions like this one found on the side of the road, need to be pulled carefully. If you don’t get the whole root you’ll have a repeat visitor.
Roots matter.
“…Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” Ephesians 3:17-19 NLT
Roots matter. If it was just about looks the moss would win the day. It looked impressive and was quite green and fluffy. Rather pretty for moss really but looks don’t mean much, it’s what’s underneath everything that matters. As people we need to remember this. We can look like we’re Christians. We can go to church and say the right things; we can even wear shirts that proclaim who we are but that’s not what counts, is it? It’s what’s in our hearts that truly matters. It’s what we’re invested in, who we’re invested in that matters. It’s the time we take personally to connect with God, to grow and understand what this love is that we’ve been given. When we root ourselves in love we begin to see how big God truly is, we begin to understand how much of a gift his love is to us. When we root ourselves in God, we can stand firm in just about anything life throws at us.
Roots matter. You can’t see them but they shape us and ground us and nourish us in this life. Where are you rooted? Where is your nourishment coming from? Roots matter. Take some time and help them grow deep and wide.
