“Let your roots grow down into Him and draw up nourishment from Him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught.” ( Col 2:7) NLT
There is a plant in the Far East called the Moso. You put the seed in the ground; water and fertilize it the first year, and nothing comes out of the ground. You continue each year, watering and fertilizing but nothing comes out. Until at the end of the fifth year, it starts to grow at a rate of two and a half feet per day. In six weeks it reaches heights of ninety feet. It’s a form of bamboo, and it’s the favorite food of the Panda Bear. But the question is, what was going on for five years? Answer? Roots!
The first five years were spent growing roots to support the exponential growth.
For the Christian it’s the same way for the renewing of our mind. It takes time to grow roots in the Word of God.
Remember the timetables in school? 3×3, 4×4, etc.? Believe it or not, we studied those timetables for six to eight weeks in the third grade. My son on a bad day said, 8 x 8 was 56; on a good day, 8 x 8 was 72. But after six to eight weeks of repetition, when you ask him 8×8, he tells you 64 without any hesitation.
Let me ask you another question. What is 2×2 or 5×5 or 3×3? Did you notice how quickly you responded with the answer? Proves to me you have been in the third grade. And some of you haven’t been there for many years.
Repetition and time is the key to learning and GROWING ROOTS.
One last question…are you rooted in Jesus Christ, the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us? “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a branch will bear fruit.” (Isaiah 11:1)
The last words of the Apostle Peter to the church before his death were for us to “… grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (II Peter 3:18) The Greek translation of the word “grow” signifies continuing action. One church leader puts it this way, “Growth is the only evidence of life. When you are green, you grow; when you are ripe, you rot.”
LIFE LESSON: Keep Growing Roots in the Lord, Jesus Christ, the tree of life, the one true vine. Jesus said, “I am the true vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in Him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) Thank you Jesus! And all God’s people said “Amen!”
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Growing in His Grace,
Len Baker