The Strength of our Spiritual Root System
Ben and I witnessed the glory of God in the Redwoods and Sequoias of California.
There are all sorts of spiritual pictures and insights we can gain from the glory of God in His natural creation....
I am so grateful for each of you who have added stability, strength and inspiration to my life.
Philippians 1:3
#247 The Strength of our Spiritual Root System Ephesians 3:17
Our bond of fellowship has been illustrated in a very real way as we have gotten to understand the Redwoods and how God has created them: their root system is relatively shallow but can reach out 60 to 80 feet, and the roots join the roots of other redwood trees which add to their strength.
We are to be rooted and grounded in Christ. He is our growing place and his love is our soil. (Ephesians 3:17,19) This is THE vital relationship of Life as we draw both nourishment and stability from him. God has also determined our part and function in the body for the good of the whole. There are ways that the holy Spirit roots and grounds, connects and stabilizes us in one another. The Lord places us in the body, as it pleases Him, with the connections that He sees are beneficial. 1 Corinthians 12:18
This does not take away from our independent relationship with God and Christ. When any of these trees fall due to death, decay or catastrophic event, the other trees around remain strong because the root system remains in place. The influence of strength of those no longer with us remains. The Lord wishes to build the strength to stand in us regardless of who is no longer with us in our lives.
These thoughts lead me to reflect on who the LORD has overruled I have contact with, in study class, through fellowship. Our special bonds with one another are not a matter of arbitrary coincidence. Neither are the conflicts we may experience with one another. They are both special gifts, meant to root and ground us, anchored in Christ, and anchored in our bonds of fellowship with one another. Ephesians 4:11-16
And so I thank the LORD for our spiritual root system, and that there could be a way that we are a strength to each other!
“I bow my knees before the Father…that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His spirit in the inner man; so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:14, 16-19 NASB
There are all sorts of spiritual pictures and insights we can gain from the glory of God in His natural creation....
I am so grateful for each of you who have added stability, strength and inspiration to my life.
Philippians 1:3
#247 The Strength of our Spiritual Root System Ephesians 3:17
Our bond of fellowship has been illustrated in a very real way as we have gotten to understand the Redwoods and how God has created them: their root system is relatively shallow but can reach out 60 to 80 feet, and the roots join the roots of other redwood trees which add to their strength.
We are to be rooted and grounded in Christ. He is our growing place and his love is our soil. (Ephesians 3:17,19) This is THE vital relationship of Life as we draw both nourishment and stability from him. God has also determined our part and function in the body for the good of the whole. There are ways that the holy Spirit roots and grounds, connects and stabilizes us in one another. The Lord places us in the body, as it pleases Him, with the connections that He sees are beneficial. 1 Corinthians 12:18
This does not take away from our independent relationship with God and Christ. When any of these trees fall due to death, decay or catastrophic event, the other trees around remain strong because the root system remains in place. The influence of strength of those no longer with us remains. The Lord wishes to build the strength to stand in us regardless of who is no longer with us in our lives.
These thoughts lead me to reflect on who the LORD has overruled I have contact with, in study class, through fellowship. Our special bonds with one another are not a matter of arbitrary coincidence. Neither are the conflicts we may experience with one another. They are both special gifts, meant to root and ground us, anchored in Christ, and anchored in our bonds of fellowship with one another. Ephesians 4:11-16
And so I thank the LORD for our spiritual root system, and that there could be a way that we are a strength to each other!
“I bow my knees before the Father…that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His spirit in the inner man; so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:14, 16-19 NASB
