This morning I was looking out the window at a tree. I looked up and thought, so many branches all spread out. It's amazing that you look at this tree and it looks as if its just sitting on the ground, and this thin trunk holds up this big tree.
But we know appearances can be deceiving. It is not the trunk holding up this tree, but rather the roots.
When a tree is first planted, the roots start forming. As that tree grows and time goes on, the roots also grow and hold firm in the ground.
The roots beneath the ground, that you cannot see, are what make this tree stand, make it grow, and make it stay put when a storm rolls through. The roots are the reason for this tree.
In your daily walk, what are you rooted in? Anything at all? Material things? Relationships? Money? Career? What you are rooted in will determine how you grow.
As a Christian, Jesus Christ is to be the roots we are grounded in. As a new believer, those roots are just beginning. But with time and effort, those roots will continue to spread out and hold us firmly in place. And in order to be an effective Christian, we must strive for those strong roots.
In order for a tree to grow, it must have certain things- water for instance. It must be fed what it needs to grow. As a Christian, we also need to be fed in order to grow, fed spiritually. We need to be fed with God's word, spoken to us at church as well as read in the Bible, fed with Christian fellowship, fed with prayer and relationship with Jesus. It is only though getting fed, that we may grow. If we lack this spiritual food, like a tree, we will begin to wither and die.
A tree does not have one branch, but many. And together they make up this beautiful creation. Those branches depend on one another as they are all spread out. We as Christians are to have relationship with other Christians, coming together as unique individuals with different spiritual gifts to together create the body of Christ.
Some say they cannot believe in God because they cannot see God. How do you believe roots exist if they are under the ground and you cannot see them? Because you can see the tree that it produces? Let others see what God has produced in you, through you. Ground yourself in Him, feed your spirit, nourish it, and allow others to see Him through you as each and every day you grow into something beautiful even through the storms.
I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. John 15:1-8
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