DEEP ROOTS!

 

Many people know me as a Math Teacher. YES, I am one of the weird people that LOVE math. I love problem solving, puzzles, organized thought, and I am NOT a fan of chaos. Yet, most of my friends and family are not aware of my love of history. There are so many valuable lessons we can learn from the people who have gone before us. I often think about my Grandpa and Grandma Lewis, Grandpa and Grandma Rhoades, my dad, and so many others that contributed to who I am today. They are still contributing long after they have passed into the arms of Jesus.  I am a collection of their lives and life lessons. They are the roots that remain of an ancient tree. 

One of the things I remember from my trip to Israel was the Olive Trees and particularly I remember the Olive Trees in the Garden of Gethsemane. People may not realize that Olive trees have a very long life. The average life of an Olive tree is about 500-600 years old. But the trees in the Garden of Gethsemane have been dated much older, maybe even 2000 years old. Even, most skeptics, at the very least, date the ROOT SYSTEMS of the trees in Gethsemane to be at least 2000 years old. 

I started thinking about TREES and ROOTS this morning as I was reading Colossians 2:

"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, NLT)

In Jeremiah there is another beautiful reference to roots:

"But blessed are those who trusts 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 17:8, NLT)

A woman  passed away who was 103 and a big part of our church family for most of her life. I didn't have a chance to meet her before her passing, but from the stories I have heard, she was such a faithful servant. It is evident her roots were deep and like the verse in Jeremiah said, it is evident she never stopped producing fruit. 

Growing deep roots into JESUS is another beautiful thought for today. Are you rooted into the life of our SAVIOR. Are you rooted in his word every day? Are you connected to him in prayer? Have you made it a priority to join in FELLOWSHIP with him and his followers. The ROOTS are the key to advanced spiritual growth. We need to put real effort into growing our ROOTS deep in the LORD.