deep roots

I pray that your love will have deep roots. I pray that it will have strong foundations (Ephesians 3:17).

Many years ago Teri and I built a house on top of the highest plateau in Wichita County, Texas. (Not saying much!) The locals knew the hill for two things—strong winds and rattlesnakes. (Neither was mentioned by the guy who sold us the land, by the way.)

It wasn’t long after we built our home that the hill began living up to its reputation. Our family has many wonderful memories of Rattlesnake Hill, but the wind is not one of them. I planted many trees, as had generations before, I am sure. I planted pecans, oaks, elms, cedars. They all succumbed to the punishing wind. One tree survived. One tree, in fact, thrived. It was the one tree I didn’t want—the mesquite.

The mesquite tree is a sorry excuse for a tree! It looks like an overgrown weed and is the bane of every Texas rancher. Its thin leaves, winding branches and long nail-like thorns make it the tree from hell.

The mesquite survives the punishing wind, drought and cold of west Texas for one reason: roots. As anyone who has ever tried to clear mesquite will tell you, the roots grow deep and wide. They can encompass a huge tract of land and are almost impossible to kill. The hardy mesquite is a great example of “rootedness.”

On a recent trip to the Holy Land, I noticed there is a tree in the Judean hills that grows as wild as the mesquite. The olive tree grows hardy and wild in the harsh conditions of the near eastern desert.

Deep roots in hard terrain—the tenacious olive and mesquite trees. These are great symbols for what our spiritual lives should be. Paul thought of the many friends he had in the Ephesian church who were new believers and wrote, “I am praying for deep roots for you!”

It’s tough out there. Life is hard! Crazy, counterfeit doctrines are everywhere, competing for your attention and loyalty. “Grow those roots deep!” Paul is saying. It is important that a church nurture a maturing process that grows deep roots. Our “rootedness,” our foundation, is found in the depth of our understanding of His word.

Blessed is the man… (whose) delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers (Psalm 1:1-3).

A person “in Christ” has rootedness when he or she “delights” in the word of God—when the regular, sustained study of God’s word and doctrine brings joy. Rootedness is the result of purposeful study and meditation that goes beyond occasional reading.

A deep understanding of God’s word means knowing the essentials of the faith. Someone rooted in Scripture knows the difference between the essentials and the non-essentials. The roots grow deep as he gains clarity regarding what is most important and what is really not all that important. Immature Christians are notorious for majoring on the minors. A rooted “in Christ” believer majors on the majors. She knows the mountains from the molehills.