Roots, Ripples & Reference Points
Lessons from the Lake, Part One
TCF Sermon
July 9, 2006
What do you think of when you think of roots? You might think of trees or plants. You might think of anything else that grows. Maybe you think of the miniseries that appeared on TV in the 1970s?
Remember that – the story was called Roots, and it was the story of the heritage, the roots, of a man named Alex Haley, whose ancestors were brought to the U.S. as slaves. That’s one kind of roots. We all have those kinds of roots in our lives – our ancestry.
These kinds of roots mean where we came from – including the soil in which our lives were rooted even before we were born. My roots are Irish and German. 100% Irish on my dad’s side, 100% German on my mother’s side, so I’m 50% each, split right down the middle.
My family would probably tell you that my Irish roots explain my temper. They don’t call them the Fighting Irish for nothing.
Roots are a vital thing for us to consider. Where we came from is only part of what we must consider. Where we’re going, how we’re living our lives now, how we’re prepared for the future, also relates to the kinds of roots we have in our lives now. And that’s where the tree, the plants, the growing things analogy, comes in.
You’ve seen the little cards we have available here - Are you rooted in a church? This communicates the same basic idea. It says “a tree doesn’t grow unless it has roots.” “You also need spiritual roots set deep into God’s Word and others.”
My thinking on this message began a few months ago, when I was at my in-law’s lake house in Arkansas. The lake level was way down, and there were things exposed on the shoreline that hadn’t been exposed since the White River valley was flooded when Beaver Dam was built in 1962, creating Beaver Lake.
One of the things I saw was the remnants of this tree. Now, the analogy breaks down somewhat, because clearly, this tree has been dead for a long time. But I want you to notice something. Despite being underwater for more than 40 years, this tree is still here. And I tried to move it – it isn’t going anywhere without a chain saw, or a backhoe. The water level on the lake has risen again, so it’s submerged once more.
But, it’s not the weight of the remaining limbs and trunk holding this tree in place, because as you can see, there’s not much left. It’s the roots. They must be very strong, and deep, and widespread, to hold on through the flood and the stress of being underwater that long.
I began to think of the biblical analogies about people, and the spiritual roots we all have. So today is part one of a three- part message I’m calling
Roots, Ripples & Reference Points, Lessons from the Lake
In two weeks, we’ll look at part two of my lessons from the lake, about ripples, and then the next time I preach after that, we’ll look at part three, about reference points. The apostle Paul also recognized the significance of roots in our spiritual lives.
He wrote this to the Colossians:
Colossians 2:6-7 (NIV) 6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
Being rooted and grounded in Him is a vital component of our life in Christ. Many other passages of scripture communicate this idea as well. The Word tells us that being well-rooted in Christ is a strong place to be, while the opposite place, having shallow roots, or roots planted in poor soil, is a dangerous place to be.
Consider the key phrase, used twice in these verses, which tell us clearly that where our roots are spread is critical in terms of how we will grow, or whether we even survive.
Look at these verses again. Verse 6 - continue to live – where – “in Him.” Verse 7 - rooted and built up – where – “in Him.”
Where you sink your roots matters. If you sink it deeply into the soil of the world, you’ll end up drawing spiritual nutrition from the world, and you’ll be like the desert bush in Jeremiah 17, or like the one with no root in the parable of the sower. We’ll look briefly at those scriptures in a moment.
On what do you depend for your emotional and spiritual sustenance? How deeply are your roots sunk into either the world, or into Him, the things of God, the Word of God, the Kingdom. These are the questions we want to ask ourselves this morning.
Many Proverbs help us see the importance of a good root system, sunk deeply into Christ and His Word. Let’s look briefly at two:
Proverbs 10:30 (NIV) 30 The righteous will never be uprooted, but the wicked will not remain in the land.
Proverbs 12:3 (NIV) 3 A man cannot be established through wickedness, but the righteous cannot be uprooted.
Isn’t that a great thing to think about? The righteous cannot be uprooted. The Word tells us we are righteous when we’re in Christ. What’s more, lives that are dominated by wickedness have no stability. Think about it. What’s one thing you often seem to find in common with people caught in a lifestyle of habitual sin?
There’s no stability in their lives. They drift from place to place, sometimes job to job. Or perhaps they can’t maintain close relationships, they’re often estranged from their families. There’s little or no stability in their lives. They have no firm roots, if they have any roots at all.
The trees which are unstable at Beaver Lake are the ones that have had their roots directly attacked. They might have had good roots at one point, but their roots were undermined by the force of the water when the lake level was too high, and now they’re in danger of being uprooted. These trees survived high winds and storms unscathed. It’s when their roots were attacked, and the soil in which they were rooted was eroded, that they have now become endangered. Some will make it, some won’t.
Of course, for a plant of any kind, a tree, a flower, even a weed or a blade of grass, the worst thing that can happen to it is for it to be uprooted. Why? Because when a plant is uprooted, it can no longer gain access to the sustenance it needs to survive. It’s the beginning of the end, unless it can be re-planted.
Lisa got some roses a few weeks ago, and they were beautiful. But they didn’t last. Nobody really expected them to, because they’d been uprooted, or in this case, the flowering part of the plant had been cut off from the root system which kept it alive. The flowers stayed on artificial life support for a while, in a vase full of water, and the remaining part of the roots, the stem, did its best, to draw the nutrients needed directly from the water. But the root system had been cut, and several days later, the flowers withered and died.
In fact, and I apologize for how unromantic this reality is – maybe it’s a guy thing…but when we give flowers like that, we’re basically giving away dying plants… plants desperately gasping for their last breaths. They’re dying because they’re cut off from the root system, which was critical to their lives.
I want to tell you this morning, that our spiritual root system, our spiritual roots,
are critical to our spiritual lives as well. They’re no less critical than that rose that sits in a vase, dying because its roots are no longer intact.
That brings us to the functional purposes of roots. We can learn from a look at the science of the matter.
WHAT ARE ROOTS?
One science text says this:
Roots are equal in importance to leaves as the life support system for plants and thus for all life in terrestrial ecosystems
Holman Bible Dictionary says:
ROOT The part of a plant buried in and gaining nourishment through the ground. In Scripture, root generally appears in a figurative sense. Root indicates source as when the unrighteous are pictured as a root bearing bitter and poisonous fruit (Deut. 29:18; Heb. 12:15) or when the love of money is described as the root of all kinds of evil (1 Tim. 6:10). Deep-sinking roots picture stability (Ps. 80:9; Prov. 12:3) and prosperity (Prov. 12:12; compare Ps. 1:3). Exile is termed being uprooted (1 Kings 14:15; Jer. 24:6), while taking root again pictures return from Exile and the renewal of God’s blessing (2 Kings 19:30; Isa. 27:6; 37:31). Seed that fails to take root pictures those whose commitment to Christ is not firm enough to withstand trouble or persecution (Matt. 13:6,21). To be rooted in Christ is to be established in faith (Col. 2:6). In Paul’s allegory of the grape vine Israel is the root of the plant, the church the branches (Rom. 11:16-18).
—Holman Bible Dictionary
So, roots are related in Scripture to the source of something, for good or ill. Well-established, deep roots picture stability and prosperity. Being uprooted, or not rooted at all, is clearly seen as a bad thing.
Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary says:
ROOT — the part of a plant that provides stability and nourishment for the plant. Most of the references to roots in the Bible are symbolic, based on this important relationship of the root to the plant. As a metaphor, to be rooted means to be established; to be uprooted means to be dispossessed.
If we want to be established in the Kingdom of God, we must have strong, deep spiritual roots. What’s more, we must have roots sunk deeply into good soil. Some types of soil are better than others for plants. Those of you who are gardeners, or those of you who grew up on farms, know that’s true.
If your soil is sandy, or clay-like, it’s harder to grow healthy plants, maybe impossible in some cases. There are some elements that the soil in which we put down spiritual roots must contain. One of those critical elements is the Word of God. Without the Word of God for our roots to draw from, we’re unable to sustain ourselves, and we’re unable to find stability.
Remember, those are the two key things our roots help bring us. Our spiritual roots bring us spiritual sustenance to keep us spiritually alive, to keep us spiritually healthy, to keep us fruitful, and growing.
Our spiritual roots also keep us stable, like the tree rooted in Beaver Lake. It was firmly planted, with deep roots that kept it stable, that kept it from being completely swept away by the water.
The context of the passage we started with in Colossians was exactly that idea. There’s a spiritual protection for us when we have deep, strong roots in Him. Paul’s purpose here was protective – and pro-active, preventive. He wanted to make sure the roots of the Colossians were so deep that they couldn’t be uprooted, or led astray from the Lord.
Let’s go back and look at more of the passage from Colossians 2, this time beginning with verse 2.
Colossians 2:2-8(NIV) 2 My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I tell you this (WHY?) so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. 5 For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is. 6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. 8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.
Let’s notice Paul’s clear purpose in this passage. Verse 4: “I tell you this so that no one may deceive you.” Verse 6: “just as your received Jesus, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith.” Then, one more warning about being uprooted: verse 8: “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy.”
Another way to say that might be: Don’t be uprooted. Don’t let hollow or deceptive philosophy pull you up by the roots from the good soil you’re already planted in. One commentary noted that the Old Testament prophets used this kind of language for the people of Israel. If they obeyed God, they’d take root, be planted, be built up.
Life Application Bible says:
Paul uses the illustration of our being rooted in Christ. Just as plants draw nourishment from the soil through their roots, so we draw our life-giving strength from Christ. The more we draw our strength from him, the less we will be fooled by those who falsely claim to have life’s answers.
If our roots are deep and strong in Christ, we can have confidence in our Source. Remember that roots often refer to the source, to the beginning. Our source is Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. When we’re well-rooted in Him, our roots are deep and strong, and we have much more protection from the things that might draw us away from Him.
The other critical element in the soil we’re planted in is the people we surround ourselves with. This is true of our friends. This is true of our church. If you have close friends, who are walking firmly with the Lord, you’ve got a part of a good root system that will help sustain and stabilize you. If you have friends who are uprooted, they’ll take you along with them. They’ll attack, perhaps unknowingly, but attack nonetheless, your root system.
Before you know it, you’re like those trees hanging onto the shore at Beaver Lake. Only time will tell if the rest of their roots are strong and deep enough to keep them from falling.
The soil you’re planted in includes the church you choose. Let me tell you from experience, being planted at TCF is being planted in good soil. I’ve been here 26 years, and, no credit to me, I’ve grown during these years. Growth and health is one of the things that indicates a strong root system in good soil. More than half my adult life, I’ve drawn, through my roots at TCF, from the rich soil that’s here. If being in one place 26 years isn’t stability, I don’t know what is. That reminds me that time is also a factor in deep roots. Deep roots take time to grow, to sink in.
Another thing that occurred to me thinking about this analogy…you can’t replant something indefinitely… that is, again and again. It takes great care to take a plant from one place in the soil, and re-plant it elsewhere. It may not be impossible, but it’s difficult. And the more you do it, the less likely it is that the plant will survive at all, let alone thrive.
The longer period of time that roots go down into the soil, the more stable they can be. If it’s good soil, then there’s still more stability. There’s strength in a tree that has deep roots. It’s solid, it’s sturdy. We can be strong, solid and sturdy, too, when we put roots down in a place like TCF, and don’t uproot ourselves to find different soil.
And let me tell you, there are, of course, other churches with good soil out there, but there are places where the soil might not be as good as it is here. Considering the difficulty of uprooting a tree or a plant and re-planting it elsewhere, we should think long and hard about doing that.
Think, too, about what it means, for example, for a tree to be in a forest with other trees. If you’re a smaller tree in a forest with other trees, there’s the strength in numbers principle at work. If I’m a little birch sitting next to a mighty oak, let’s say someone like Jim Garrett, someone whose roots are certainly deeper and sturdier than mine, what benefit is it to me when a storm comes?
The wind blows, maybe the hail falls, but the mighty oak, as well as all the other trees around me, help to shield me from the storm to some degree. They’re stronger, they’re more deeply rooted, so they can take some of the brunt of the wind, meaning I don’t have to deal with as much of the power of the wind, or the possibly uprooting effects of the wind, because the more deeply rooted trees help protect me.
There’s a lot to be said for the kind of soil we’re rooted in, and for putting down deep roots. We can’t take this analogy too far, because it’s clear God calls some to the mission field, for example. But even then, our missionaries’ roots are here, and I think these families and others would tell you it’s those roots – roots in God’s Word, roots in His church, His people, that give them stability and strength.
Is there any doubt that the Schupacks or the Places, are rooted here, even though their field of service is different places around the world? But, with a few exceptions, I think it’s safe to say that, at least in part, deep, healthy, spiritual roots might be related to the length of time we’re rooted in one place, when it comes to the soil of the church we’re planted in, and the time we’ve walked with the Lord. Perhaps that makes it even more critical for us to be in a good church, especially when our roots are young and maybe a little bit shallow.
Let’s look at just a couple additional passages of scripture to help flesh out this reality of spiritual roots in our lives.
In Matthew 13, Mark 4 and Luke 8, we hear Jesus tell the parable of the sower. I won’t read the whole passage to you from any of these gospel accounts, but let’s look at a couple of key verses which serve as warnings to us:
Matthew 13:6 (NIV) 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 13:21 (NIV) 21 But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.
Luke 8:13 (NIV) 13 Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.
This is a warning to us about what happens when we have no root. When the going gets tough, when the sun comes up, when the heat comes, those without a good spiritual root system will wither and die. Matthew 13:21 explains that the heat can be trouble or persecution. Luke 8:13 tells us it can simply be a time of testing. When we have no viable root system, when our roots are shallow, when our roots are not planted in good soil, our faith can wither and even die. We can’t stand the heat, the wind, or any of the things that life can bring. Life, in fact, is certain to bring these kinds of things. That brings us to a scripture I keep coming back to in the course of my life.
Jeremiah 17 issues a similar warning.
Jeremiah 17:5-6 (NIV) 5 This is what the LORD says: "Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD. 6 He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.
Depending on flesh, our own resources, our own abilities, or someone else’s, for our strength, makes us like that bush in the desert wasteland.
But the prophet doesn’t end there. He paints a better picture for those of us who trust the Lord. In this word picture, trust is a synonym…a synonym for those who choose to put down roots in Him.
Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NIV) 7 "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. 8 He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."
This passage has for most of my Christian life been one of the most meaningful verses I’ve found. That’s because I want to be that man who trusts in the Lord. I want to be that man whose confidence is in Him. I want to be that tree with roots by a stream, who doesn’t fear when the heat of life comes. What’s more, I don’t want to just survive, I want to thrive. I want my leaves to stay green. I don’t want to worry when there’s a time of drought in my life, whatever circumstances that may include. I never want to fail to bear fruit.
Do these desires describe what you want out of life too?
Finally, I want to note that the gardening analogy really works well in our spiritual lives. That’s because a gardener must cooperate with the realities of nature, the laws of gardening, if you will, to grow anything productively. But even with this cooperation, it takes God to make things grow. Without the sunlight, without the rain, without the quality of soil, all of which are provided by God and God alone, you might be able to grow things to some degree, but you can’t consistently, effectively, fruitfully grow anything.
Yes, we have to do our part, but our part is worthless apart from the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Just as a gardener’s or farmer’s efforts can only cooperate with what nature brings, and of course, we all know Who provides those things that nature brings.
So, also, our efforts are not the initiative, they’re only cooperating with what only the Holy Spirit can do in our spiritual lives.
Jesus said I am the vine, you are the branches. Jesus is the root, we’re the fruit.
We cannot create fruit, we cannot grow roots, without the Vine.
As Paul wrote to the Colossians, let’s be rooted in Him. Let’s be built up in Him. As we noted, that’s the key phrase. In Him. In Him. In Him.
Let’s be strengthened in the faith, and let’s overflow with thankfulness that Jesus enabled us to be rooted in Him. Let’s put our roots deep down into the Living Word, Jesus, and let’s not only survive, but thrive in Him.
Amen.
