Uprooted

I walked out on back patio and my eyes settled on the various flower pots full of death.  Dry, withered roots, dry soil, plants that were once thriving now in a stage well past death.  No water, no life.  No matter the temperature outside if the plant is well watered, it can survive.  I began thinking about the death in my life, death brought about by sin--Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

In whatever stage of our life, we plant roots.  Our seeds are our decisions, actions, reactions.  Many of us have roots of bitterness, roots of anger, roots of hatred, roots of insecurity, roots of rejection and so on.  These roots sown by things we have done AND by things that have happened to us.  The fruit we bear is determined by where our roots lie.  If we are rooted in sin, we will bear the fruit of sin, but if we are rooted in Christ, we will bear His fruit.  The Holy Spirit produces "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." (Galatians 5:22-23)

Often times, the roots of our past have to be pulled up.  The deeper the root, the greater the force to pull them up.  Trials, hurts, starvation may be the backhoe.  The tree can sometimes be transplanted in new soil and growth will occur producing new, fresh roots.   Sometimes, though, you may have to resort to all out bulldozing and starting over with new seeds.  In land development, fire is often used to clear acres of trees.  Either way, the process can be quite laborious. Synonomously, getting rid of sin in our lives sometimes takes uprooting and transplanting, bulldozing, or fire to purify, but no matter how painful the transplant, how devasting the demolition or how hot the trials, if we put down new, fresh, clean roots and stay watered by His Word, we can and will thrive.  I can tell you by experience the reaping of good seed, fresh harvest, and new building and development is so worth it! 

It is my prayer to stay rooted and grounded in Him that I might produce good fruit.  For what good is a tree, if it bears no fruit?

Jeremiah 17:8 "They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water.  Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought.  Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit."

Be it unto me!