Going Back To My Roots
On the morning of Thursday, October 4th, I folded down the back seats of my little blue-gray Hyundai Tucson and began to load the back of my car. I buried the back of my car with a box of nonperishable foods, a deep purple suitcase large enough for me to fit in, a small backpack, a Canon camera, a neon blue crate of jumper cables and windshield washer fluid, and a storage bin bulging with shoes, a comforter, and a hammock. Other than my coffee cup and a bag of sour gummy worms in the center console, there lay all of my possessions for the next eight months of my life.
Adventure was staring me straight in the face - all I had to do was jump in the driver’s seat.
I’ll openly admit, my two greatest fears in life are (1) losing my memories and (2) dying. I fear that I am running out of time to capture all of these exclusively-mine-alone life moments. I fear that my bucket list will be left incomplete, a continent left untouched, an experience left unlived, and a potential friend left unknown. I fear missing out on this life.
““Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’”
“Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”
Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!””
Just like the rich man idolized his possessions, I idolize the experiences this world has to offer. As Christians, we know it’s not worth losing our soul to gain the world, yet we fall into the same pattern of elevating the riches of this earth over the pricelessness of our gracious God.
Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t live life, seek success, and find bliss in all of the aspects of this world which make your heart flutter in your chest. After all, God works through our own unique drive and desires. Moreover, he wants us active on this side of heaven and promises to bless all that we do if it’s done in His name, to His glory.
In grace, our Father pours out blessings on our earthly lives. He gives us family, friends, shelter, work, food, drink, clothing, shoes, pets, scenery, laughter, adventures, and so much more. If you tried to come up with a list of ways this life is marvelous, you would still forget something.
Yet, there is more than this world, and if we seek contentment only on this earth, we’ll be left feeling unsatisfied and incomplete.
That is why we will remain rooted in Christ.
“So then, 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.”
We know that this life is temporary, so why do we often seek to establish our longest and strongest roots in earthly soil that will someday waste away?
My earthly roots may lie in Colorado. I may be branching out towards the sky in an attempt to capture all of life’s experiences. I may find plenty of flowers blossoming on my tree’s branches as life takes me down unknown paths. While my earthly tree may grow big, strong, and beautiful, it will only exist but a moment. The flowers will wither, the branches will weaken, and the roots will begin to decay.
How much bigger, stronger, and more breathtaking is the everlasting tree rooted in Christ!
Let’s be rooted in the richest soil, in a love unceasing, in a Savior’s promise.
Let’s be rooted in life-giving Christ so that our faith may flourish in His grace.
There is no greater satisfaction, joy, or experience than knowing that our roots will not shrivel up when our earthly lives end. This life is about One so much greater than ourselves; this life is an act of thanksgiving to Christ.
Life can be quite the adventure.
Living for Christ makes it an even better one.
