Rootedness and Fruitfulness

UV 2133/10000 Rootedness and Fruitfulness
Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
Colossians 2 v 7
Believers are trees of righteousness that grow forth from the tiny seed of faith in Jesus planted in our hearts. If we are rooted in this faith, we will not move away from the hope of eternal life we were first inspired with when we believed and received Jesus into our hearts with folded hands. We will increasingly be more rooted, strengthened, established, settled, not just convinced but convicted in our faith. Our doubts and fears will flee. We will fan our faith into full flame and sustain it right through our lives. We will not allow false doctrine or setbacks to affect the fervour of our faith. Our foundation will be like that of a castle that is set in solid bedrock. Nothing can shake our faith. Nothing and no one can cause us to shrink back from the grace of the Lord.

To be rooted in the Lord, implies that we are rooted in love. The vertical plank of the cross is our love for God. The horizontal is our love for each other- our near and dear ones, the stranger and the neighbour, our friends, our enemies. Both need to intensify and grow over time. Our understanding of the multi-dimensional love of Christ needs to grow manifold. As that understanding and our own love grows, we will glow in both good words and good works that are the fruit or the expression of that deep seated, deep rooted love. We will grow in maturity and will no longer be just consumers of grace but producers, c0-producers of grace. We will no longer be governed by our whims, our fancies, our moods, our desires but be driven by God-given, guided and goaded goals. We will not translate the huge load of teachings we have received this far into principles that are actively practiced in our daily lives.

One of the things that pleases the Lord and is evidence of our rootedness and maturity is a heart of gratitude. We need to overflow with thanksgiving towards the Lord for all He has done for us, for all He has revealed, for all He has given us in His grace. The attitude of constant and overflowing gratitude towards the Lord is a state of bliss and blessedness. It is a stimulus for our further fruitfulness and growth. It is both the cause and effect of sustained joy forevermore. It is also a faith multiplier.

Prateep V Philip