What does it mean to you to be rooted?
To me, it means to be strong, to find sustenance and confidence in something. It means that you’ve found comfort and the peace to remain stationary, to be content. That is exactly the kind of comfort Christ wants us to find in Him and through Paul, the Bible tells us of this important promise.
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
(Ephesians 3:14-19)
There’s so much going on here in this passage so I will attempt to break it down piece by piece. First, this is a prayer that Paul is offering on behalf of the Christians at Ephesus and one that he offers to us as well. I’m so encouraged when I hear Christians praying for one another in this manner. You can just see Paul pouring his heart out, deeply desiring for these fellow saints to come into a fuller understanding of their Savior Jesus.
Paul first prays that believers find power, through the Spirit that God has to offer (vs. 16). Paul completely acknowledges that our true strength does not lie in our own abilities but in the wisdom and nurturing of the Holy Spirit. And why is that Spirit given to us? It’s so that Christ may live within us (vs.17)! That’s right! God himself lives within you, providing what you need from the inside.
Are you rooted in Christ? Are you rooted in his love (vs.17)? God is love (1 John 4:8) and if we are going to really know God and his definition of love, we must be grounded in Him. But why? Why is it so important to find our strength from God? Why is it so vital that we learn about his love and learn how to apply it in our own lives? Verses 18 and 19 answer these questions. It is so we can realize the fullness of God, so we can have even some small view into a love that surpasses anything we can comprehend.
When we find that love, when we probe its depths and find that it goes on forever, we’re brought into a new kind of hope. A hope that mere words in this post could not describe. We’re able to, in some small way, behold a God who’s beyond beholding. We’re able to catch a glimpse of the eternal glory that awaits when we get to see Him in Heaven one day.
That should keep us rooted in His love.
-Joe
Faith and Footsteps 