Once when visiting my son who was in college in Florida, I went for an afternoon walk along a paved pathway. Tree roots had broken through this asphalt overlay. I walked for a couple miles and saw that these roots breaking through was a very common occurrence.
A couple of life lessons came to my mind: 1) The roots are stronger than the obstacles, 2) The roots grew toward the water they needed for nourishment which enabled the trees to grow toward the light.
When we take root in the Word of God, we find access to living water and reach toward the Light of the world. This is exactly what we need to feed our souls and to live and grow and bear fruit as God intends for us to do.
Sometimes we run into obstacles which can keep us from getting what we need if we allow it. Will our desire for spiritual nourishment overcome the obstacles like the tree roots I encountered on my walk?
Consider Jesus’ parable of the sower.
“And he told them many things in parables, saying: ‘A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away (emphasis mine). Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty’” (Mt 13:3-8). If we don’t have spiritual roots, we will “whither away” without ever producing the spiritual fruit God wants from us.
“Thus says the Lord: ‘Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit’” (Jer 17:5-8).
God help us all to grow roots that persistently seek the spiritual nourishment our souls need to bear fruit and be pleasing to our Lord. Let no obstacles keep us from doing so; let us determine to trust in the Lord always!
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