ROOTS

Mathew 13: 1 – 9
Ever look at a tree? What we see is the trunk and the branches. It is a strong living thing. What we don't see is the roots. Roots are the key to the tree.
Roots are what makes the tree strong. They anchor the tree, keeping it from blowing away in a storm, and the feed the tree, making and keeping it strong and healthy in its treeness(tee, hee).
If the tree has more branches and leaves than roots, the the wood is weak, prone to disease and of no use for building anything with, but if the opposite is true, if there are more roots, than the wood is strong, dense and ready to use.
We are like trees in as much as it is our roots that anchor us, define us, strengthen us, and give us a sense of who we are. We are also like trees in a spiritual sense, if we aren't rooted in the word, we will wilt when we are faced with challenges to our faith.
This is what Jesus is getting at in the parable of the sower. He showed that without the roots that family and faith provide we are nothing. We will never be able to stand up for anything.
Roots aren’t at all glamorous, but they are the source of our strength. If our roots go deep in the knowledge of God (Jer. 9:24) and our lives are “hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3), we’ll be strong, resistant to blight, and more likely to survive the storms of adversity.
3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed.
4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.
5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.
6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.
7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.
8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.
I love my roots. I relish in the heritage of my family. We have a proud history of service to God and country. On my fathers side our family was, and still is, in service to the British crown in the military, while on my mothers side of the family most of my cousins are either ministers or missionaries.
All this combined to lead me to Christ, and shape the husband, step-father, and man that I am today.
We all have roots, Jesus wants them to run deep and strong, so read the parable of the sower, meditate on its meaning, reflect on your own heritage and depth of faith.