My generation glorifies the scissor. By that I mean, we LOVE the idea of “cutting people off”. We don’t tolerate disagreements, misunderstandings, or mistakes. We kill things before they can thrive. We want results without work. We want MORE without managing what we already have. We want to be pursued, but we don’t want to stay for the relationship. We want thrill, but no commitment. The issue with being in a relationship with someone like this is that you can never truly trust or rely in them out of fear that they're going to leave the next time they get impatient or uncomfortable.
We can be the same way when it comes to our relationship with Christ. When trials become too much, when He misses the deadline that we gave Him for our blessing or miracle, when someone else gets in our ear or something shinier comes along, we begin to reconsider our loyalty to Him. We may even go as far as to question His existence or love for us.
For like 30 seconds in 2012 (true story), I considered life without the Lord, and here’s what I took away: No one else’s blood can save my life eternally, even if they were crazy enough to die for me. No one else will keep forgiving me after I hurt them over and over and over again. No one else faced hell to redeem me. No one else can give me eternal life. No one. And if I’m wrong, I’ve lost nothing. I’ve simply lived life with the most amazing, controversial, poetic, wise, charming, loyal, consistent, and ridiculously soothing Imaginary Friend in the world; but if I’m right, I’ve everything to gain and my soul rejoices at the thought of eternity with Him.
John 6:67-69, “Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?” Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.”
So, to whom shall I go? To no one else. I am rooted for life, and for my millennials, I’ll be praying for you to have your own personal “rooted” experience.
Brianna
One of my favorite parables from the Bible includes that of the story about the farmer who scattered seeds. One passage in particular states how the farmer happened to scatter some of his seed amongst rocky land with little soil. When it grew, it was scorched because it was not properly rooted due to the shallow soil.
For a long time, this particular parable held little weight in my life. I had become an intellectual fool. I of course knew that plants couldn't grow properly without roots so I didn't catch the message right away. However, once I applied this concept to my life, the meaning forever changed me.
Matthew 13:
5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.
True, I had began an amazing relationship with Christ but the question of being rooted still remained unclear. Hmm, I'm an active member at church, I try to live my life so that I encourage others to seek after Christ, and I pray often. That should give me a few inches in depth, right? Wrong. Yes, I had seed that had been scattered but nothing was producing the harvest I had expected. I was simply getting quick sprouting fruit that withered almost as fast as it had grown. That job I didn't pray about? Of course I landed it, I'm qualified. However, did I seek God's approval? Or, how about that financial investment that seemed perfect? Did I pray and await God's response? When we make instant decisions without seeking God's input we are simply scattering seed in hopes of a harvest that could be a curse packaged in a blessing's wrapping.
I'll put it this way:
You don't see farmers planting seed one day and corn stalks sprouted the next. If so, you probably need to question its quality. You also don't see them planting corn and expecting weeds. However, if the farmer decided not to wait for proper soil and rushed into planting on folly ground weeds could be a result.
When you cut out God's say, you could be planting the distraction that was set up to kill your destiny. If you aren't spending time in God's face for His will on your life, you more than likely aren't deeply rooted. This doesn't mean you don't have a true relationship with God, but it's simply reinforcing the necessity to keep His word a priority.
My favorite parable continues to say:
8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.
I realized that my seed too had been scattered so much that no rooting had taken place. I did the minimum to simply be saved. No fasting, no hours spent in prayer, and only Wednesday and Sunday morning services. Sure, I played occasional gospel music on Pandora but how could I expect my mediocre action to establish deep roots? There was no way. With every trial and tribulation that had begun to come my way I found myself withering. With every negative word, thought or failed project I had drawn up into myself. My self esteem was diminishing, confidence was wearing, and my health was beginning to decline.
Like our physical body, our spiritual being also need nutrients. Roots are how plants receive nutrients from the water and soil. If we have no spiritual roots, we are missing out on the nutrients that lead to God's promises. One of them being eternal life.
John 4:13-14
Jesus answered and said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life."
Today, I'm focusing on establishing roots. No, It's not easy but it is so necessary. Will it take work? Yes! However, I choose to be a grounded vessel for Christ. How can He use me to save souls when I'm weak? How can I testify to His strength when I'm off withering away? Sis, join me and let's establish our roots. It is better to reap a harvest of quality than to reap one that's immediate.
Peace,
Moe.