“I’ve cut it to the ground every year, and all it does is sprout and grow again. Even digging down several inches and cutting the root didn’t help.” My neighbor, a professional landscaper, chuckled and replied, “You need some help. I’ll be right back.” In a few minutes, he drove up with his backhoe. With a couple of scoops, he dug out a huge root bulb over a foot in the ground. I never had another problem. I learned some weeds have deep roots. It does no good to cut them off, the roots must be dugout. As New Year’s approaches, I remembered this experience and thought about how people will make the same resolutions they made last year because they only cut off the top, leaving a root that sprouted again.
Writers of Scripture used the metaphor of roots throughout the Bible because the recipients lived in an agrarian society. They didn’t think in abstract terms but understood spiritual lessons correlated with agricultural life. Every plant, whether a good plant or a weed has some type of roots. Jesus taught the importance of having roots in the parable of the sower. Some seed fell on rocky soil. They hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away (Luk 8:13, c.c. Mat 13:5, 6). Believers must have roots in themselves. Paul used the analogy or roots in several places. He wrote, 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 (Eph 3:16, 17).
The Bible warns about several types of bad roots—i.e. a root of bitterness and a love of money. We must put away bitterness. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you (Eph 4:31). The verb put away is a one-time action in the passive mood, meaning it is done for us. My neighbor told me I needed help and provided his help. Jesus promised I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever (Joh 14:16). The Holy Spirit can bring His ‘backhoe’ and dig out the deepest root if we allow Him to work.
Roots are the part of a plant that are hidden below ground. Horticulturists tell us a plant’s root system makes up the major part of the plant body. A study revealed that a single 4-month-old rye plant has a total root length of 387 miles contained within 2 cu ft of soil. If you garden and buy plants in the small cups, remember how many roots were packed in the small container. The major function of roots is to stabilize the plant above ground and bring nutrients and water to the plant. These principles apply to fruit trees as well as weed plants. These visible comparisons are to give us insight into our spiritual lives. If we are rooted in Christ and His Word, we will be fixed and stable, and well-fed. The Holy Spirit will sustain us through any storm and cause us to grow.
However, if we have allowed bad roots to remain buried in our hearts and only chopped off the tops occasionally, our spiritual growth is in great danger. When you make your list of resolutions for the new year, ask yourself, “why do I want to make this change in my life?” Is it for your health, your spiritual growth, or is it peer pressure, the current fad; Why? Then ask the Helper to show you if there is a hidden root in your life like a root of bitterness or a love of money. If He shows you something, let Him bring His ‘backhoe’ and dig it out. Roots of weed can choke out good plants, steal nutrients and water, and destabilize it. Paul warns we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine (Eph 4:14). We all know Christians who are like tumbleweeds that had only one shallow root. When it breaks, the wind will blow it everywhere. The Red Wood trees have lasted for millennia because of the extensive root system.
A positive application of grounded roots can encourage us. The pandemic, fires, hurricanes, tornados, civil unrest, floods, etc. have cut many people down to the ground. Yet, the same principle for hidden weed roots that sprout again if you only cut the tops. It applies to those who are rooted and grounded in Christ; your life may be cut to the ground, but your spiritual stump is still there and will sprout again. “At least there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its new shoots will not fail . . . So the Lord restored what Job had . . . and the Lord doubled all that had belonged to Job (Job 14:7, 42:10).
Sustaining Word for the Week: Let the Holy Spirit dig out the bad roots and nourish and grow your roots in Christ.