My thumb is not green. Each spring I visit the gardening department of our local home improvement store hopeful that this year will be different. I carefully select baby shrubs and colorful flowering plants. Returning home, I pull on gardening gloves and spend hours planting my new treasures. Cala lilies, geraniums, and various fruit-tree saplings … you name it, I’ve planted it … and killed it.
Every year my new plants look pretty for a while. But eventually, the leaves start to appear waxy, and the flowers begin to droop. I add plant food to the soil and water them more thinking that doing so will combat whatever it is that’s ailing them. But before long, all signs of life are gone. I’ve done it again.
What I’ve failed to recognize is that long before there were outward signs of being unhealthy, the plants’ roots had started to rot.
Rooted in Christ
Too often I adopt a similar mindset in my spiritual life as I do in my ill-fated gardening attempts: I put more time and attention into how things look on the outside than I do on the roots hidden beneath the surface. And while it might work for a while, the end result can never be anything more than performance and good behavior.
God has something so much better—so much deeper—in mind for us. What if instead of focusing on the fruit in an attempt to grow better fruit, we tended to our roots? What if we shifted our focus to the hidden thing from where the rest of our lives grow—our connection with the Source of all life and good fruit. What if we focused on being rooted in Christ?
Paul writes to Jesus followers in Colossae, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness” (Col 2:6–7 NIV; emphasis added).
It seems Paul knew what he was talking about when he chose being “rooted” to describe life in Christ …
God has something so much better—so much deeper—in mind for us.
Tending to the Roots
Roots grow when and where no one is watching.
A plant’s roots begin to grow in deep, hidden places long before any shoot breaks through the soil and enters the world of what is seen. To tend to our roots, we must create spaces and places in our lives where we can connect with God when no one is watching. Our lives are saturated with stimuli. If you are in ministry, or a parent, or simply a human living in the 21st century, hidden, quiet places are hard to come by.
Think through your daily routines. Where can you intentionally build space into your day to connect with Jesus? Maybe there are pockets that already exist that you can redeem by making into “root time,” like your morning commute or sitting in the car during a child’s soccer practice.
Try “going dark” during this time—turn off the radio, set your phone down, log out of social media. And breathe. In the secret place, we learn to hear God’s voice. We learn to listen. We learn easy companionship with the Holy Spirit.
Roots continue to grow for as long as the plant is alive.
While a plant’s roots must grow before branches, leaves, or fruit ever develop, its roots also must keep growing long after that first shoot breaks through the soil. The root system of most trees extends 5–7 times as far under the surface as the area of its canopy. As disciples of Jesus, there is no point in our lives—in our ministries, our families, our careers—when we can claim to have “arrived.”
In fact, the more fruit our lives produce and the broader the reach of our leaf canopy, the deeper and wider our roots must be to support it all. Plant roots are also opportunistic. This means that when the environment is right, they will grow. Where there is ample moisture, oxygen, and nutrients, they will extend deeper and wider.
So, let’s ask ourselves: How healthy is the soil in my life? Am I inviting fresh revelation from the Spirit and the Word every day or am I trying to support new branches with old roots?
Healthy roots help prevent weeds.
By maintaining a healthy root system, plants can compete with weeds for nutrients and water … and win! When we are rooted in Christ—when He is our focus and our source—the weeds don’t get the attention they need to survive. All of us have pesky weeds in our lives. Pride, envy, contentiousness, negativity.
As we root ourselves in Christ, may humility and kindness, peace and gratitude push out the weeds.
Healthy roots enhance the soil.
Roots improve soil structure, allowing for better water infiltration and making nutrients more available for the other plants around it. In other words, when my roots are healthy, the people around me also benefit. It’s a beautiful mutualism, a synergy designed by our relational God.
So before grabbing the mic on a Sunday morning or posting an encouraging Bible verse on social media, let’s carve out some “root time.” Because when we tend to our roots in the quiet, hidden places, our families, neighbors, and the kids we serve will get to drink from the overflow.
Where can you intentionally build space into your day to connect with Jesus?
Finally, I can’t help but notice that in Paul’s words to the Colossians, rootedness in Christ and thanksgiving go hand-in-hand: When we are “rooted and built up in [Christ],” we will be “overflowing with thankfulness” (Col 2:7 NIV).
The spirit of our age sows complaint, division, and entitlement. But the Spirit of God produces gratitude, unity, and humility. When we are rooted in Jesus, our modus operandi becomes gratitude. Our hearts become tuned to notice wonder. To see God working all around us. And to praise Him.
Earlier today I did something for the first time. I ordered artificial topiaries to place next to the front door. I figure it’ll give me more time this summer to tend to the root growth that matters most.
More from Sharron
- Sharing God’s Work with Kids: Through the Kings and Prophets
- It’s Good Friday: The Importance of Honoring this Day with Kids
- Transformed: How the Holy Spirit Guides Believers
- Waiting Well: Trusting God in the In-Between Seasons
- My Experience with a Passover Seder Meal as a Christian
- Easter: Stepping Out of the Wilderness
Wonder Ink’s 3-year, 52-week children’s ministry curriculum offers kids space to fully find their place in God’s Big Story. Children discover they are Known by God, Loved by Jesus, and Led by the Holy Spirit.
