Roots

Colossians 2:7 says, "Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives grow down into him." We all come from somewhere - we all have family roots - and with those roots come good things and bad things. I can see good and bad things that I get from both my mom's side and my dad's side of the family.
Roots - roots produce trees, and trees produce fruit, maybe that is why Paul is using the image of roots. I can look at my human family and see the roots from where I came, but as I look at my life in God, God desires that I am rooted in Him. So what do my actions, my thoughts, and my words reflect who I am rooted in? God? The world? My pride? My sin? I know that they often reflect my sin, my pride, my ideas, but in the midst of that - God is there with His unconditional love and His never ending grace for me.
My desire is to be rooted in God - but for that to happen, for me to produce fruit that reflects God is working in my life, I need to embrace His Word and His Spirit and allow them to bring change in my life, so deep and so powerful, that my life is becoming rooted in God and it changes my thoughts, my words and my actions.
As I look at the North American church, which I am a part of, I see a lot of head knowledge, and that can be helpful and needed as we attempt to grow in our faith. But God also desires our hearts and for that to happen, I (we) need to be rooted to God in such a way that our roots go down deep into God and His Word, and that we produce fruit that reflects the character of God.
For me to have that type of character and that type of fruit - I have to spend time with God - just to listen, to hear His voice - that is hard for me to do these days, I do not feel that I get the solitude with God that I would like, but I also have the chance to read His Word and to allow to sink into my heart - to change me, that I may reflect more and more of God in my life. For me, God is my Saviour but He is also my friend, a friend who listens at all times, a friend who loves me unconditionally, a friend who gives grace, when I am not graceful - and for that I will be forever grateful, because I do not receive what I deserve. My prayer is that as I live in this grace and love, I may be rooted more and more in Him, and that my life will look more like Him moment by moment, day by day, year by year. And that as I do that, it would impact others, especially Colleen and the boys, not because of what I say, but because of how I live. May I live in today and enjoy the day as it comes and not worry about tomorrow.
Amen.