You may be surprised to learn that
I have a degree in horticulture. Though
I do not use that degree, I do know some things about plants and trees. Take
Azaleas for example. There is nothing
more beautiful in the spring than a yard full of these colorful flowering
plants. One of the greatest displays of them is often seen on television at the
Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta ,
Georgia
One of the fascinating tricks to
growing beautiful healthy Azaleas is to make certain the soil they are rooted
in is acidic. The acid must be the correct kind or it will destroy the roots
which will then wither the plant possibly killing it.
In Ephesians 3:14-20 there is a
terrific prayer I often pray for myself, my family, my staff and all those we
minister to. The prayer is basically one
where we are asking God to give Christians a deeper revelation of Christ in us.
One of the results of this will be that
we will be rooted and grounded in God's love for us.
Ponder the picture God gives us of
roots from our soul being in the best soil they could ever be in, the perfect
soil of God's love. To have the roots of
our soul drinking deeply from God's love is indescribable. I not only say that from personal experience
but mainly from the conclusion of that prayer.
So where are the roots of your
soul today? Here is a reality check. If
those roots are not first and foremost in God's love, then they are somewhere
else vainly attempting to get our God-given need for love met in a person, a
possession or a position. When we live
like this, over time our soul withers and we may even feel like we are dying. No spouse, child, parent, date, friend, house,
car, clothes, job or anything else can provide our soul with the love we need. Only God Himself, Who is love, can constantly
nourish our soul with the perfect kind of love we need.
All of us at times seek to meet
our deepest need for love in the wrong place. This will eventually lead us into
disappointment, emptiness or frustration. Don't get me wrong, it is great to be loved by
someone else, to enjoy our possessions, and to look forward to our job. The reality is that we can actually enjoy
those more when we are rooted in God's love; then we can be OK when those
sources dry up.
Why don't you pray that prayer in
Ephesians this week for yourself and those you care about?
Until next time, remember He loves us.
Live free in Christ,
www.GraceLifeInternational.com
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