“Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.” Ephesians 3:17 NLT
In the past two years, I’ve been thrown into the “plant mom” life after being gifted multiple plants.
At first, I was excited because I’ve always wanted to be the Snow White of plants, but soon enough I realized I’m the furthest thing. I can’t seem to keep a plant alive to save my life!
Funny enough, I’m sitting right next to my newest unintentional torture victim, Penelope, who is a beautiful Calathea Ornata aka ‘Pinstripe’. Yes, I still have the nametag in the soil. No, I would not be able to recite the scientific name of Penelope if you asked me.
I’ve had Penelope for almost two months and she still has multiple leaves alive – that’s a huge win for me!
That’s way better than one of the first plants I was given, Alice. I don’t remember exactly what kind of plant she was, but I do remember that she was actually a trimming that came from one of my friend’s plants. She told me that trimmings can be finicky to work with, but I didn’t care because I was determined to succeed.
Long story short, Alice didn’t make it. After going weeks without watering she started to look a little frail and well…dead, and no matter how hard I tried there was no nursing her back to health. When I went to dump her out to use her pot, I realized that her roots were pretty much nonexistent – they had never grown very deep into the soil.
Now, there’s no beating around the bush. I know exactly how this happened; Alice’s basic needs weren’t met.
When this happened it got me thinking about how easy it was for something to die off when it wasn’t taken care of properly. It’s pretty easy to stunt the growth of the roots when they’re malnourished.
So, what’s the point of roots? Why are they so important?
According to Mirriam-Webster, a root is defined as:
“the usually underground part of a seed plant body that originates usually from the hypocotyl, functions as an organ of absorption, aeration, and food storage or as a means of anchorage and support, and differs from a stem especially in lacking nodes, buds, and leaves.”
When I was “taking care” of Alice I was only thinking about her outward appearance, not what was underneath the surface.
Sometimes we get so caught up with what’s aboveground that we actually forget what’s underground. We get caught up in beautiful appearances and look at things at face value, rather than look at the root.
Forget about my dying plant and think of a beautiful sunflower. Yes, we love to pick them and take Insta-worthy pics with them, but what happens after being separated from their roots after a couple of days? They die.
Aboveground, the sunflower looks pretty self-sufficient; all they need is a place in the ground to hold them up. But if you’re a gardener, “plant mom”, or have grown a plant in elementary school, you know that’s not the case.
Plants need roots to survive.
The roots not only provide the plant with water and minerals but they also anchor the plant in place and keep it stable.
Can you imagine being a plant with no roots and trying to remain anchored in a storm? A plant without roots is no match for 30 mph wind. The wind would just come through, wipe them all out, and leave the plants for dead.
In all honesty, that’s how a lot of us feel. We constantly feel blown around by the storms of life – like we’re repeatedly being beaten up by our external circumstances and left out to die physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
Nine times out of ten it’s because our roots either aren’t deep enough or they’re planted in the wrong soil. In today’s day and age, as long as our outward appearance is decent we’ll neglect that we’re slowly dying on the inside.
We choose to “fake it until we make it” so no one can see us hurting rather than getting to the root of the problem.
Let me tell you something: Even the most beautiful sunflower will eventually waste away without proper roots.
You may be able to keep your outward appearances up for a little while, but eventually what’s on the inside will make its way out. No matter how hard you try to fake it when people look at you they won’t see what you want them to see, they’ll see you for how your roots are actually doing.
But the good news is that life doesn’t have to be like that. We don’t have to expend more energy faking everything than just being ourselves. When we set down roots in the right soil, they’re going to be able to grow deep and become healthier than ever (physically, mentally, AND spiritually).
Well, how do we find the right soil? How do we remain anchored, despite our external circumstances?
The answer is simple: putting our faith in Jesus.
When we accept Jesus Christ into our lives, we are giving Him the ability to make His home in our hearts. His love makes us and our roots stronger.
But there’s something important we need to do to remain in Jesus and grow stronger roots.
Think back to the Parable of the Sower. Here’s a refresher:
“A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop-a hundred, sixty or thirty times was sown.” Matthew 13:3-8 NIV
What does all that mean? I’ll let Jesus explain:
“When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. That is the seed sown along the path. The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” Matthew 13:18-23 NIV
So what’s the key to remaining in Jesus and growing stronger? The key is staying in the Word of God – the Bible!
If we want to remain strong and anchored while the storm blows around us, we have to make sure the soil we’re digging our roots into is bringing us life rather than death. And the Word of God is the perfect place to learn precisely how to do that!
If we remain firm in God’s Word and grow our roots deep in God’s love, there is no external circumstance or enemy that can come against us and destroy us.
So take root today. Don’t let your aboveground appearance be more important than your underground health.
Screenshot these pictures – and maybe even set them as your wallpaper – to remind you to stay rooted in God and His Word!
Reflection Questions
- Why is it important to be rooted in God’s Word?
- Where do you currently feel rooted – in God’s Word or in things of this world?
- If you feel rooted in God’s Word, how can you continue to nourish and grow those roots? If you feel rooted in the world, how can you change that to be rooted in God’s Word?
Prayer
Jesus, thank You for Your love. Thank You that when I accepted You into my life, You made a home in my heart. I pray I can focus more on cultivating strong roots rather than my outward appearance. Help me remain anchored in You. In Your name, I pray, Amen.
