Roots

God doesn’t want our roots to be shallow; He’s in it for the long haul.

“A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.” Matthew 13:3-6.

One thing I love about my home is that it’s surrounded by nature. I have a lake in the back, some geese, turtles and most recently a blue Heron. The previous owners did a great job of planting trees, rose bushes, and random plants in different areas so when spring comes around, they flower at different times. It’s beautiful and I never know what I will see when I look out the window. I also have very tall trees in the back and sides of my home, which gives it a very cozy feel.

One day, my mom commented on my trees saying I should think about getting rid of the pines because they could fall on my house. Since I have never owned a home in a natural area before, falling trees wasn’t something I ever needed to worry about. I asked her why I would need to worry about pine trees, she said their shallow roots made them weak so they are prone to falling more so than other trees. I thought the odds of that happening were probably pretty rare since I’ve seen many standing pine trees and they always looked sturdy to me, but I couldn’t get it out of my mind. Every time we had a hard rain, I would pray they wouldn’t fall. I finally gave in and had them removed. It was expensive but not as much as a new roof.

Many times, Jesus told parables in order to make His message easier to understand. In Matthew, Jesus tells the parable of the Sower. He explains how the farmer planted many seeds but some of those seeds fell on rocky ground, sprouted quickly but did not survive because they didn’t take root. I thought about this parable in relation to the pine trees, while they have roots, the shallowness of them makes them an unsafe yard tree. A tree that’s there one day but could be gone the next. God doesn’t want our roots to be shallow; He’s in it for the long haul. Praying, studying God’s word and being around others that do the same will ensure our roots will go deeper so we can share God’s good news with others.

Amy Hacker is a regular contributor to The Scroll. She also is advertising manager for The Alabama Baptist/TAB Media Group. She attends the Church of the Highlands and has three children.

Share:

Get The Scroll in your inbox!

Leave a Reply