I re-potted a pot plant recently because the leaves were looking brown and the plant didn’t look at all healthy. I took it out of the pot, replaced the potting mix, tickled the roots and I’m hoping it will look a lot better in a short time.
When something goes wrong with plants and the answer isn’t evident quite often it’s got something to do with the roots. And I think for most of us, when we’re facing problems in life, it’s worth checking the roots. Here’s four poossible root problems:
Some of us have become drain-cloggers – you know what it’s like when a tree is growing too close to the pipes and you discover that the roots have gone into the pipes and broken them open? Sometimes we go searching for new ideas and philosophies and we become misled and confused when it would have been better for us to trust God’s Word. There are lots of great ideas out there, but God’s Word is trustworthy.
Some of us have developed root rot. When a plant is overwatered and the drainage isn’t too good it gets root rot. We sometimes allow ourselves to be over-watered by other people’s opinions and instead of owning our faith and our decisions, we become clogged up with our attempts to keep other people happy. What’s the result? We lose the vitality of our faith.
Some of us have become root-bound by legalism. When a plant becomes root-bound the roots run round and round inside the pot and eventually they have nowhere to go. Rules and regulations have stopped us from being able to put our roots down deep into the word of God. Legalism is a real trap because we feel very secure within all our rules and regulations, but ultimately we go round and round the pot controlled by our own arguments, very comfortable with where we are, but no longer growing.
Another root problem that gardeners experience is nematodes. There are about a million species of nematodes, microscopic round worms, and if parasitic nematodes get into the roots of your plants, they suck the life out of them. Some of us have allowed nematodes to congregate around the roots of our faith and to suck us dry.
We’ve allowed anger and resentment to influence our thinking, inappropriate thoughts and words have become a part of our lives; we’ve given into little temptations and have justified why we shouldn’t give into another.
And each of these nematodes of sin have sucked a little bit more life out of us and we’ve allowed them to congregate and grow and our lives have become ineffective.
The apostle Paul said: just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
Take the opportunity to establish a health root system in your life: Read God’s word and study it, get together with other believers and discuss what you have read. Read the Bible with another person. Pray with someone else. Don’t give up the habit of meeting together to worship God.
INSPIRE NEWSCAST 