Mike Edmisten Follower of Jesus. Husband of Nicki. Father of Ryan & Brock. Communicator of the Word.

Roots

I've been working on making a bonfire/picnic area in the woods behind my house. It's required much mowing of weeds, clearing of brush, and cutting of roots. I especially dislike that last one. While I love the gigantic trees in this little area I'm working on, I don't like their roots that come up to the surface of the ground. They're a tripping hazard and you really don't want tripping hazards around a bonfire. So I grabbed an axe, a grubbing hoe (that's an actual name of an actual tool), and a shovel and I went to work on these roots.

Funny thing about roots…they're rooted in the ground. And because they're rooted in the ground, it's not easy to pull them out of the ground. It's this root system that has allowed these trees to grow so large. It's their roots that have enabled them to withstand the worst storms that nature could dish out.

In clearing out my bonfire area, I also took down some small, dead trees. It took no work at all to uproot these trees because their roots had shriveled up. If I hadn't taken them down, the next storm probably would have.

In our spiritual lives, it's up to us to feed and cultivate our roots. If we're not spending significant time in God's Word, if we blow off meeting with God's family because we have something better to do, if our walk with Jesus is more of a religion than a relationship…we'd better beware. This verse could easily describe our lives. "His roots dry up below and his branches wither above." (Job 18:16)

On the flip side, if we cultivate our roots in the way and will of God, nothing is going to move us. "…blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." (Jeremiah 17:7-8)

I've dealt with both kinds of roots at my house this week. Living roots that stubbornly hold to the ground and dead roots that can be pulled up by hand. Which one more accurately describes our lives?