Christianity is doubtless a unity, yet it can be divided into two distinct parts, namely, that which is visible and that which is not. That’s why the apostle Paul uses the expressions outer and inner man (2 Cor. 4:16), and Peter speaks of the hidden person of the heart (1 Peter 3:4). But in this present post I would like to focus on another shrouded aspect of the Christian life, i.e., on the root upholding the Christian, on this unseen part that is at times neglected, and neglected precisely because it is hidden. To say that the tendency of mankind is to put more attention on what is seen is to assess the problem realistically. And this tendency has encroached upon many believers at the detriment of our spiritual progress.
The root defined
While it could be argued that Jesus is the Root of all Christians, Paul seems to point to something else when he writes:
As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him” (Colossians 2:6,7).
Here the apostle refers to a root distinct from the One in Whom it is rooted. Hence, he cannot be referring to Jesus. I suggest he is alluding to what has been called the inner life, to this vital and inward relationship a believer has with Jesus Christ. Another truth this verse reveals is that “the building up” is contingent on “the being rooted in”. Obviously, I am referring here to a genuine building up, not to the carnal substitute that is being constructed to impress the observer. Without a doubt, this fraudulence can be erected without any root, and it will always be the product of a mind little disposed to invest time in what is not seen. For such a person the root is nearly forgotten, or perhaps absolutely forgotten, and all the energy is invested on what is being seen. Needless to say, this fabrication is worldly and little profitable and will surely be scorched when the sun arises in its full strength:
But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.” (Matt. 13:6)
This, and this only, can be the fate of a “Christianity” without roots.
The importance of the root
Time and again the Scripture emphasize the importance of the root. The apostle to the gentiles puts it this way:
And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, 18 do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.” (Romans 11:17,18)
Paul could not have put it any clearer. It is the root, i.e., the inner life, that supports the outer life and not vice versa. To be eager to impress the observer by what is seen at the expense of the root can only backfire on us soon or later. It might take years or decades, but eventually the tragedy will be exposed and in the long term our shortcut will prove highly unproductive.
Leonard Ravenhill rightly believed that no man is greater than his prayer life. The person who prays with a clean heart deepens his roots into Christ and receives the nutrients needed for spiritual growth and fruitfulness. The importance of the depth in our relationship with Jesus Christ cannot be over emphasized, without it we are doomed to be bereft of eternal attainments while being busy with temporal achievements. This sort of externalism is, from any perspective, a bad deal and we will do well to stay away from it.
The deepness of the root
What I wrote so far begs the question: How can our roots deepen into Christ?
The Scripture declares emphatically that the trees of the Lord are full of sap (Psalm 104:16). And they are full of sap because their roots are spread wide and anchored deep into the soil (Jeremiah 17:8). This crucial anchoring takes place when times of dryness come into our life. I don’t refer here to the dryness caused by sin, but to times of affliction or distress, to these periods during which our self-sufficiency collapses. During these arid seasons our roots are provoked to get deeper into the soil to find water. What appears to be against us turns actually for our good, and the Beloved—as an efficient gardener—knows how much we can handle.
The psalmist had noticed how God prepares room for us and causes us to take deep roots (Psalms 80:9). With such meticulous care the lover “will not fear when heat comes; but his leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit” (Jeremiah 17:8).
Contrary to what is generally believed, abundant rain is not always beneficial. It encourages complacency and superficiality, a superficiality that can prove fatal when a mighty storm or a severe drought hits the land. In the first case the tree is uprooted and falls to the ground; in the second it dries up and dies.
What is true about trees is also applicable to us as Christians. This should encourage us to accept what the Hand of providence sends: rain or drought, shine or clouds, all is for our good and should be received with gratefulness.
Let us not forget! The root keeps the tree alive, not vice versa.
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