By Alyssa Hage

This is the first of a special five-part weekly series for this new month – we’d like to celebrate spring and the opportunities it presents, both physically to the new life on earth, and spiritually to the work Christ is springing forth from our hearts, by focusing on this topic on our forum. We pray it is a blessing to you, sister!

“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord,
so walk ye in Him: rooted and built up in Him,
and established in the faith, as ye have been taught,
abounding therein with thanksgiving.”
{Colossians 2:6-7}

Plants will not survive without roots. We are much like plants; we will not survive without roots. Roots are the avenue by which the plant receives nourishment; they hold the plant stable and store extra nutrients. Sincere love in action (what the Bible calls “charity” in 1 Corinthians 13) nourishes, stabilizes, and provides us with stores for the fruit of the Holy Spirit. The most deeply rooted people are those who are grounded in God’s perfect love and thus they flourish, not easily blown away by the fierce wind of adversity. Ephesians 3:17-19: “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.” There has been much debate about these four dimensions of God’s love, but a little child held in the loving arms of his mother knows exactly how all-surrounding love feels. This is the everlasting love with which God loves us!

As we grow in God’s love, our garden and our character both reflect the amount of weeding done during the growing season. Weeds are unsightly, rob soil of water and nutrients from cultivated plants, harbor diseases, serve as hosts for pests, cause unwanted shade, crowd crops, and block air circulation. Weeds rooted in the heart, like jealousy, self-pity, unjustified anger, and bitterness are more destructive than weeds rooted in the earth. An offense can cause a bitter spirit. It will germinate and spread, color our personality, affect our behavior, and choke our relationship with God. The longer a weed grows, the harder it is to uproot. The more sin grows, the harder it is to get rid of. Prompt removal is the way to avoid trouble made by weeds and it’s the only way of dealing with bitter roots that can overrun the heart. Hebrews 12:14-15: “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, f and thereby many be defiled.”

Every evil thing Satan plants shall be rooted up. Matthew 15:13: “But He (Jesus) answered and said, Every plant, which My heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.” Trials are God’s experiment to prove us; suffering is a wonderful fertilizer to the roots of godly character.

The root of the matter: let God’s love take deep root in your life.

Tips for Your Garden

Rooting hormones, a chemical compound synthesized in powder or liquid form can be introduced to new plants or transplants to encourage new root production. A recommended amount is simply added to water in the planting hole before placing the plant firmly in the hole.

~Alyssa K. Hage
{Guest Writer}