Rooted in Love
“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.” Colossians 2:6-7
“The Earth laughs in flowers,” the poetic Ralph Waldo Emerson stated. If Emerson’s assessment is true, then June is in hysterics. Petunias dot front porches, wildflowers frame highways, daylilies reach high through mulch beds and geraniums sway in warm Kansas breezes. I inherited my love of flowers from my grandma, who preferred flowers to most people. While my own thumb only has a hint of green compared to hers, I deeply appreciate flowers wherever they’re planted.
One of my favorite things about flowers is the process they go through to grow. A tiny seed holds all the potential of the specific plant within its hard shell. Then when the seed imbibes water, enzymes are activated and new life begins to emerge. The first thing to overflow out of the seed is the anchoring radicle root, followed quickly by the main shoot. A strong, anchored radicle root works in conjunction with the stem to help it get to light as quickly as possible.
In a long list of career possibilities, botany didn’t make the cut for me, but I love to see how God creatively designed our world to reflect His hand. Read the following two verses from Colossians 2:6-7 and notice the parallel language of our spiritual growth to that of a seed into a plant: “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.”
Jesus is the light we are to follow (John 8:12), the root of our faith is to be anchored in who He is and built on His unchanging presence. With those things established, we will grow strong and overflow in gratitude. Jesus offers our hard, encased hearts living water from a source that will never run dry (John 4:10). He is our catalyst for new life and our source for nourishment as we grow.
How does this apply to our families? With this perspective we can offer grace to others as they go through various seasons of growth. Who in your life needs reminding that no seed is buried beyond God’s notice? He can certainly transform it into new life. Parents, our overflowing thankfulness is the radiant blossom our kids will remember for generations to come.
Faith & Family columnist Jena Meyerpeter writes from Lenexa and you can follow more of her writings at UnravelGrace.com.