Rooted and Built Up

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.

Colossians 2:6-7

Thoughts~ As a muralist, one of my favorite walls I painted was a massive tree for a doctor’s office. I had so much fun painting each leaf with veins, changing the shades of green and angles of the leaves as I proceeded across the wall. Murals don’t have to be expensive: the client determines the price of the mural, so I know how detailed I can get. The trunk of that tree traveled down to the baseboard and spread out on top of a small mound of earth, but it was the leaves of the tree that were the show stopper. I spent three days painting and the clients got a really good deal because I couldn't seem to stop making the tree as lush as possible.  I wanted to draw attention to it so it could be admired.

How often we are concerned with what shows to the world and not what is viewed by the Lord. The world sees our leaves, the exterior view of our faith. But the Lord sees the roots of our faith, the strength of it or the lack of it. He sees the gradual building of faith that is rooted in Him. And when our leaves fall off and our branches are bare, the world won’t see the strength below the surface . . . but the Lord does. And that is what counts after all.

We are aware of our roots, too, aren’t we? We know how the Lord has used our trials and unwanted experiences to grow us up into the men and woman He designed us to be: Strong and overflowing with thankfulness, rooted, strengthened and built up in our faith. Without the trials in my life, my roots would have remained shallow. Very shallow! So I can truly thank the Lord for those times I endured pain, heartbreak and troubles of various kinds. They fed my faith roots and I became strong.

Action~ Have you noticed how shallow the roots are in in some trees? Others are wide, supporting the tree, strengthening it as storms blow hard. The more time we spend in God’s word, the stronger our roots will grow.  They will spread out and sink down deeply . . . and we won’t be swayed by the trials that come our way. Feed your roots with the daily bread of God's word.

Pray~ I do overflow with thankfulness to You, Lord. I offer praise for all You have taught me through the many trials in my life. I thank You for developing my faith roots.

Trusting in Him,

Becky

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The painting at the top of my blog is called Established in Love and it is by Kate Riney. She has inspired me to paint something similar for my home.

The painting depicts the Huarango tree which has the largest roots in the world. Google it for some fascinating information. I am planning to paint (in my own style) a tree that will serve as a reminder to me to grow strong in my faith by reading God's word every day.