Rooted & Built Up
RISE
AND SHINE FOR JESUS!
By
Pam Iannello (my late mother)
"Rooted & Built Up"
Col.
2:6-7 (KJV)
As
ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:
[7] Rooted and
built up in him,
and stablished in the faith, as
ye have been taught,
abounding therein with thanksgiving.
When
I first read this verse I noticed that the apostle Paul used an
agricultural term and an architectural term to explain the type of
Christian life we should have. He said that believers must be rooted
and they must be built
up. Hence, we are
instructed to develop ourselves in two different directions – way
down deep and way up high. So, how’s it going, dear lady? Are your
roots dug deep in the rich soil of the Word of God? Are you a
grounded believer?
Are you changing for the better by increasing in Christ likeness? Are
you constructing your character with truth? How
would God answer these questions?
Rooted:
to become stable
Built
up: making spiritual progress
Can
you imagine trying to build a tree house in a tree that is just
sitting on the surface of the ground in a big pot? It would tip over
immediately… Common sense tells us that it is going to be difficult
to build at all if we don’t have a proper root system in place.
Sadly, many Christians favor building themselves up
far more than tackling the depth
of their character. Perhaps you prefer to foster visible areas of
growth rather than working on the inner areas of your life…
Nowadays it seems that even God’s children are quick to rely upon
things other than the Word of God and the Spirit of God for strength
and stability. When I think of how people typically confront their
manifold anxieties, medication is the first thing that comes to mind.
Even though they may
be Christians, Jesus Christ is not the one that holds them up. Their
source of steadiness is not because of an inner, holy root system –
it is often external; it is physically ingested rather than
spiritually obtained. I hope that is not the case with you, dear
lady! I hope that you have become rooted IN HIM and nothing else. Not
even your circumstances should be relied upon to aid your stability.
Listen, before you will ever be able to add extra responsibilities to
your life as a servant of the Lord you better be sure you have the
character to
carry these duties out for
the glory of God! You
won’t be able to do anything FOR HIM if you aren’t rooted IN HIM.
Without roots in Christ your support system will be fleshly and
human flesh can only accomplish so much before it caves in under
pressure… On the other hand, the Bible says we can do ALL things
through Christ which strengthens us. If you are having trouble being
a consistent
Christian you need to make an agricultural assessment and see if you
are rooted in something other than Jesus! Plant
yourself in GOOD ground…
Mark
4:1-9 (KJV)
And
he began again to teach
by the sea side: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude,
so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole
multitude was by the sea on the land. [2] And
he taught them many things
by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine, [3] Hearken; Behold,
there went out a sower to sow: [4] And it came to pass, as he sowed,
some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured
it up. [5] And some fell on stony ground, where
it had not much earth;
and immediately it sprang up, because
it had no depth
of earth: [6] But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because
it had no root,
it withered away. [7] And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew
up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. [8] And other fell on
good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and
brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred. [9]
And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
There
is one more thing that I’d like to point out about being rooted and
built up as a Christian… What we need to realize is that the Bible
says this kind of Christian maturity comes by way of teaching.
In fact, if you’ll look back over the verses above you’ll notice
that I highlighted this tidbit of truth in yellow so that you could
see it for yourself. Are you teachable,
dear lady? Have you willingly, enthusiastically, and consistently
placed yourself under the tutelage of a Biblically grounded saint who
is willing and able to help you with your agricultural and
architectural development as a Christian? Or have you resisted being
a student simply because you are one who thinks you can grow on your
own? To be honest, “homegrown” believers usually experience most
of their biggest problems at home! In fact, their home suffers
greatly with every
storm that comes along and they are hardly able to handle any
responsibilities outside of the four walls they reside behind…
Matthew
7:26-27 (KJV)
[26]
And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not,
shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the
sand: [27] And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds
blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall
of it.
Stop
and consider whether or not you have a proper relationship with Jesus
Christ. Ladies, an overconfident, unteachable spirit will prevent you
from deeply fixing your roots in the Word and will of God. And in the
end, rather than be thankful for them, you will despise the
teacher/teachers you’ve pulled away from and fall prey to an unholy
life because of your
pride. No matter how old you are or how long you’ve been saved or
how much experience you’ve had as a Christian you should never stop
considering your own growth! God wants His children to humbly sit
under doctrinally grounded teachers who will scripturally nurture
their walk with the Lord and spiritually fertilize their Christian
testimony. Are you
still a student, dear lady?
Are you receiving the
Word of God with benefit?
1
Cor. 3:6-7 (KJV)
I
have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. [7] So then
neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but
God that giveth the increase.
Though
man is not better than God, the Lord does use a variety of human
instruments to aid the development of other men and women. And we see
here that Paul was a planter, while Apollos was a waterer. Such
faithful teachers are authorized and qualified to advance the cause
of Christ. Nevertheless, the increase comes from GOD – not man!
Therefore we must submit to God’s agricultural and architectural
program if we would be rooted and built up in Him. Think about the
past Christian leaders that have helped you to stay on track
spiritually… Can you imagine where you’d be if it were not for
their godly influence and instruction? What holy planters and
waterers have you cast off or rejected of late? Who
are you not willing to learn from and why? How
can you expect that God will grant you growth if you are resisting
His methods of growth?
How can you expect
that the Lord would work THROUGH you if He cannot first work IN you?
Ladies, the Lord withdraws His benefits from those who are not
thankful for His agricultural and architectural help and helpers.
There isn’t one of us that shouldn’t express overflowing thanks
to God that we have been made acquainted with truths so precious and
glorious and that accomplished by way of faithful teachers!
In
closing, how would you describe your spiritual life at present? Is
there anything that is threatening your devotion to Christ or is it
as firm as ever? Are the messages of God’s Word taking root and
growing in you, still? I pray it is so!
It would be a shame if you were more faithful to work at keeping your
houseplants alive than you are your faith in God…
God
Bless,
Pam
Isaiah
60:1&2
Copyright
2006 Pamela A. Iannello
Comments
Post a Comment