It is gardening season for me and growing season for my farmer husband. After a lot of rain, we finally got everything planted.
My garden was in shambles. Evidently, dandelions like a lot of rain. My garden looked like it specialized in growing dandelions and nothing else. Looking around at some fields, it seemed like dandelions were everywhere.
If you’ve ever tried to pull a dandelion, you may have noticed that the root is massive! The bigger the weed, the longer and thicker the main root. That root is evidence of the growth required for the longevity of the weed.
After my husband plants corn, he likes to go back and check his seeds. He will dig up some seeds just to check the depth at which they were planted. And after a little time has passed, he goes back and checks the roots.
You see, the growth on a corn plant first happens under ground. The tap root shoots out and down, trying to firmly establish the tall corn plant that will eventually grow.
I recently came across this verse:
“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” (Col. 2:6-7, NLT).
Because I am a farmer’s wife in the middle of growing season, the use of the word “roots” caught my attention. It got me thinking about how we grow and mature as Christians and as people.
There is such great practical information in these verses. If you know me at all, you know I love a plan and some good action steps. Let’s break it down, shall we?
1. Continue to follow Jesus. This seems like a no-brainer, but sometimes we miss it. Maybe we accepted the Lord a long time ago and have been on auto pilot since then. Maybe we are a new believer and we don’t know what following Jesus looks like. Either way, the command here is to keep following Jesus.
When we are followers of anyone, we do what they do. Think of the kids’ game “Follow the Leader.” Jesus is our leader, so we must live our life like He lived His. We can read the Bible to know Him better and to seek His wisdom in difficult circumstances. We can ask His Spirit to help us.
2. Get rooted. The verses from Colossians says to grow our roots down into Jesus. Roots need to be covered so they can collect the nutrients for the rest of the plant. And just like a plant’s roots, we need to be covered with the truth from the Word of God. We will not find what we need from the messages of this world. Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again” (John 6:35, NLT). With roots firmly grounded in Him and His truth, we will have all we need to grow.
3. Build your life on Him. In order to build anything, you need a good foundation. A tall corn plant must have roots that are strong and deep or it will fall over in the wind. With our roots in Jesus, we can grow and build our lives. We can find our calling from Him and then work to carry it out. We can be moms who “build their house in wisdom” (Prov. 14:1). We can provide stability and security for our families.
4. Strong faith and thankfulness. With deep roots and a solid foundation, we can get to know God more and more. It’s simple. The more time you spend with someone, the more you can trust them and depend on them. Think about it: you wouldn’t trust your life to a stranger. But when we let God build our lives and walk with us, we learn He is faithful. We know we can withstand strong winds and storms, and we can be thankful that He never leaves us.
Even though dandelions are a pain, you have to admit that they have strong roots. Corn too. You can even see extra, stabilizing roots coming out and down from the plant itself, right above the dirt, giving the plant extra support. See?
So, this is the only time I will probably ever say this, but be like corn, or a dandelion if you rather. Let you roots grow down deep so you can build a life in Christ.
