Deeply Rooted in Jesus
Quarantine gave me the opportunity to do some much needed and some unexpected yard work. What originally started out as a simple plan to spend a day or two cleaning up the creek in our backyard quickly turned into a very intense multiple week adventure. I found myself over the next couple of weeks doing a variety of different jobs and using power tools I had never used before to change the landscape of our yard. One of those things was using a chainsaw for the first time to cut down some trees. I had no idea just how therapeutic and fun a chainsaw can be when used safely. Cutting down trees, for the most part, is fun and easy to accomplish when you have the right equipment.
But getting rid of the stumps that are deeply rooted in your yard is difficult.
If you have ever spent time pulling weeds you know that for it to be effective, you need to make sure you pull up the roots of the weed as well, otherwise it will just grow back. This is easy to do with crab grass, dandelions, and little shrubs around your yard. This is practically impossible to do with the larger trees. I know that simply the weight of some trees would limit your ability to do this, but I quickly learned that a small little cut with a chainsaw could take out 90% of a tree with a little push. But the stump and the deep roots will stand their ground against the most powerful of chainsaws. Even after you introduce the stump to a stump grinder and it seems like the tree is forever gone, the roots of that tree are still deep underground holding on.
Jesus is found in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 13 telling a large crowd a parable about a Sower. In this story, a farmer scatters seed on four different surfaces. The seeds fall along the path, rocky places, thorns, and good soil. All the seeds, except for the ones who landed on good soil, were destroyed because they were not able to grow deep roots for various reasons. This story confused everyone listening, including the disciples, so Jesus then explains what the parable means. He tells them that this story is about the four different ways people deal with hearing the Gospel message. Three of them do not allow the Gospel to have deep roots in our heart but one does.
The first is the dry path that symbolizes those who hear the Gospel but do not understand it. Being deeply rooted in Jesus is about understanding the Gospel. (Matthew 13:4)
The second is the rocky places that refer to those who hear the Gospel and understand its message but do not let it penetrate their heart. Being deeply rooted in Jesus is about understanding the Gospel and letting it penetrate your heart. (Matthew 13:5-6)
The third is the thorns. This part points to those who do not prioritize the Gospel in their life. Another word to help describe this would be idolatry. Anything we allow to become priority over our relationship with Christ and start looking toward it for life instead of God. Being deeply rooted in Jesus is about understanding the Gospel, letting it penetrate your heart, and making it a priority in your life. (Matthew 13:7)
The final option is the good soil. This is where anyone who has ever tried to do some heavy-duty landscaping by trying to uproot some deeply rooted plants can relate. The good soil is what happens when you allow the Gospel to do what it was created to do in your life…you grow deep roots in Christ Jesus. Being deeply rooted in Jesus means you understand the Gospel, let it penetrate your heart, prioritize it, and grow! (Matthew 13:8)
The story does not end here either. Jesus goes on to explain that as we grow in our understanding of who God is and allow the Gospel to take deep roots in our heart, we will begin to impact other people or produce a crop. When a tree has strong deep roots, it produces a crop. When a tree is deeply rooted, scary things like chainsaws can come and attack it but its roots hold strong. When a tree is deeply rooted, the storms of life will come and go but the tree remains. (Matthew 13:18-23)
I know not every parable or metaphor is a perfect or flawless way to describe something, but they do help. That is what Jesus was trying to do here and it was what I was reminded of while working in my yard. Roots matter. The Gospel matters. Where your seed falls matters. So, let me ask you a few questions…where do you find yourself today? Why do you think you find yourself there? What is causing you to not fully understand the Gospel? What is keeping you from allowing the Gospel to penetrate your heart? What thing are you prioritizing over the Gospel?
If you are a believer in Christ, are you seeing growth and a crop come from your relationship with Christ?
All these questions are important to ask and even more important to answer. God’s ultimate will for your life is for you to know Him! When we come to know who God is, we finally begin to know who we are. Knowing who we are allows us to experience life the way God created and designed it…deeply rooted in Christ!
