Strong Roots

Strong Roots

              

  There is an old hackberry tree near my shop.  This old tree has been there as long as I can remember.  Back during the winter, a storm blew through and knocked that old tree over.  Many times I thought about asking the property owner if I could cut the tree up for firewood.  As spring rolled around, I ran out of time to cut the tree up and forgot about it.  That is until the other day when I noticed that the tree is sprouting new leaves.  I realized that the tree was still alive and creating new life.

                It got me thinking about life in general.  Mathew 5:45 tells us that it will rain on the just and the unjust alike.  The storms of life will come regardless of who we are.  Things will come out of nowhere that will knock us down.  Life gets hard and we fall under the weight of all the junk we pack on.  This is where we rely on the roots we have developed. 

                There are two types of people in the world.  There are the ones that are not rooted to a firm foundation and then there are others that that root themselves in the cornerstone.  The first type of people are like Bradford pear trees.  They grow big and tall, but when a storm blows in they are blown over without much force.  Their roots break and they lie on the ground and wither away.  The other group of people are what Paul prays for in Ephesians 3:16-17.  He prays, “16 that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.  17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him.  Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.”  This is the type of person I strive to be.  I want my roots to grow deep into God’s love, so when the storms of life come, I’ll be prepared.

                I pray that I am like the old hackberry tree.  The storms can come and they can even knock me over.  But I want my roots to be so deep that even lying on the ground people can still see that I’m still ALIVE.  Which tree are you?  Are you the beautiful Bradford pear or the old hackberry?  The storms WILL come and they WILL knock you down.  Now is the time to decide how strong your roots will be.