Deep Roots

I just came in from outside.
I was watering all of my plants.
I pulled a few weeds here and there.
I try to stay on top of things.

There is a sense of accomplishment as I look at the new growth.
I laugh because it is not my accomplishment.
God takes care of the growth.
I just maintain it with watering.

I like my old rusty gates on which hang small birdhouses.
Every spring, families of birds that take up residence, serenade me.
I can see the mother fly to and fro gathering food for her babies.
I can hear the noises coming from the nest, little birds letting her know they are hungry.

I give special attention to some new plants that were planted in the spring.
They get extra water to ensure the roots are well saturated.
It is a twenty-minute ritual every morning.
I enjoy that time outside before the heat of the day.

Near my side porch was a maple tree.
It grew in such a way that the grass underneath was dying.
Dying for lack of sunlight.
Other plants on that side of the house were lacking sun due to its thick shade.

As much as I dislike taking down trees, this one had to go.
It was very close to the house.
We get many storms here; our county notoriously loses power at the first sign of wind.
The tree came down in the spring and the sunlight broke through.

As I was watering the plants on my porch, I looked at the space where the tree used to be.
We have woods behind us, and a tree line behind an old stone farm wall on the side of us.
This was the only maple among all of our trees.
I will miss its rich colors when fall arrives.

I looked at the spot and saw a tinge of red.
I made a mental note to investigate when I was through watering the hanging baskets.
I walked over to the spot, pulling a few weeds that poked through the soil on my way.
The tinge of red was a new shoot of the maple tree poking through the ground.

Relentless.
Persistent.
Tenacious.
Stubborn.

I was a walking Thesaurus as I thought about words to describe this one sprout.
Just when I thought we took care of that tree.
Just when I thought it was cut down for good.
Little did I know that there was still life way beneath the ground.

Isn’t that so like us?
We remove the sin in our life.
We promise ourselves that we will not do that any more.
It is over, cut out, removed, gone forever.

But then one day, that same sin that we thought was once removed, rears its ugly head.
One little sprout of sin pokes through.
We dismiss it, thinking that it doesn’t matter.
That sin has been eradicated; we don’t have to worry about it any more.

Oh, but we do!
We take the credit for its removal.
We have handled it, thank you very much.
We have mastered it; it is over, done, in the past.

But we forgot about the roots.
We removed what could be seen but left the roots that lay seemingly dormant for a while.
Dormant, yet gathering nutrients from the ground that has not been turned over.
Roots that still exist even though we removed all that we could see above the ground.

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His Word has no place in our lives. (1 John 1:8-10)

We cannot simply remove the apparent sin from our lives and expect it to be done with it.
WE cannot do anything on our own.
That sin removal has to come from outside us.
That sin removal has to get down to the very roots, or else it will rear its ugly head again.

Only God can do the removing.
Only God can come in with precision and accuracy and remove any vestiges of sin.
This side of heaven, we will struggle with sin.
It is part of our life here in this fallen world.

We must recognize that we are a sinner and can do nothing to help ourselves on our own.
We must ask Jesus to come in and help us.
We need His help to remove that sin and dig out the roots.
Without His expert removal, the tentacles of sin beneath the surface will continue to grow.

We come to Him, humbly asking for His help.
We realize that we are powerless on our own.
We know that anything we remove is just removed on the surface.
We are incapable of getting to the roots on our own.

Praise God for sending His Son Jesus to get to the root of the matter.
Praise God that in Christ, we have victory over sin.
Praise God that in Him our roots grow deep, sprouting new life.

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. (Colossians 2:6,7)