Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. — Colossians 2:7 (NLT)
In the recent uptick in time spent at home, I’ve developed an interest in house plants. I love the way they brighten up a room, bring freshness to a space, and add beauty. A friend gave me a plant clipping and I put it in an opaque vase with fresh water and popped it on my window sill. After three long weeks, I was discouraged that I saw no progress and assumed my brown thumb had prevailed. As I was lamenting to my husband he removed the plant from the vase to reveal giant healthy roots and lots of new growth.
Sometimes our growth in the Lord can look like my plant — very slow with progress under the surface. We know that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) which means that each of us has a sin struggle that we are battling as we desire to love God and obey Him with our whole hearts. In an effort to grow in our likeness of Christ, we read His word and we pray, and still our tendency to sin returns. But in His grace, he offers forgiveness, and by the Holy Spirit, He equips us to persevere. And that is growth. Slow, steady, beautiful growth. Author and artist Ruth Chou Simons reminds us that, “we don’t have to be blooming to be growing.” Today, let us bury our roots in Him and build our lives on Him, as Paul writes in his letter to the church at Colossae. “Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness” (Colossians 2:7 NLT). And as we grow in His grace, may our hearts overflow with thankfulness.