Message of the Day
Time in the garden has got me thinking about roots in all their shapes and sizes. Just when I’m getting a hate on for the deep taproots of the dandelions, I realize that my lovely carrots have taproots, too. And the fibrous roots that bug me when I’m pulling crab-grass are the same kind that support my tomatoes.
Curious, I looked up roots on Google. I’ve discovered that roots have five main purposes, and it struck me how those purposes can mirror our own rootedness in faith:
Their first purpose is support — both for the plant itself, and for others that might lean on it (as those ever-present morning glories do on my raspberry canes).
Secondly, roots absorb and conduct nutrients to the plant, helping it to flourish even when conditions seem less than optimal.
Thirdly, some roots store food in their tubers (eg. potatoes, yams), making pithy sources of future new growth (and yummy food for us).
Roots play an important role in photosynthesis, acting as part of an overall system of absorbing elements and converting them to life-giving energy.
Finally, roots have an ecological function in holding together the earth in which they live.
Scripture
“I pray that you may have your roots and foundation in love, so that you, together with all God's people, may have the power to understand how broad and long, how high and deep, is Christ's love. Yes, may you come to know his love—although it can never be fully known—and so be completely filled with the very nature of God.”
~Ephesians 3:17b-19
Prayer
Nurturing God,
We pray that you will help us to grow a strongly rooted faith that will nourish and sustain us in our own lives, and will enable us to lend support to the people and world around us.
Amen