Autumn is a time when most plants abandon life above ground in preparation for the hardships of the Winter. The branches of most trees and shrubs drop their leaves and go into a dormant state. Herbaceous plants die back to ground level. For them life simply continues below ground where the Winter frost cannot reach. They quite literally go back to their roots.
In the Bible there is an old proverb that says:
The wicked desire the stronghold of evildoers,
but the root of the righteous endures.
(Proverbs 12: 12)
Very few people enjoy living with insecurity - most of us want the safety a stronghold. It might be in a good job, underpinned with qualifications, skills and experience. Perhaps in family or a circle of close friends. Sometimes it's in self-protection - playing all our cards close to our chest and never making ourselves vulnerable.
Strongholds are not necessarily evil, but they have one thing in common. Sooner or later, something or someone comes along and knocks them down. Anyone who has visited the remains of a medieval castle, such as the one at Corfe in Dorset, will appreciate how a seemingly impregnable stronghold can be reduced to a ruin.
Roots, on the other hand, go deep and spread wide. They have no point of vulnerability The ground in which they grow is part of planet earth. Deep roots may penetrate even into the bedrock. Anyone who has tried to dig out a tree or remove a stand of Bindweed will appreciate how hard it is to eliminate something that has strong, healthy roots.
When times get tough it's not enough to have a stronghold. We need to be rooted in something bigger and stronger that ourselves and greater than any challenge we might face. Complete and ultimate security only comes from being rooted in something or someone greater than death itself. We need to be rooted in God.
Paul wrote to the church at Colossae:
Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him (Colossians 2: 7-8)
Roots are not built, but grow organically. Being rooted in Jesus speaks of an organic relationship with him. It's built in the same way as any other relationship - through observation, conversation and interaction. By reading the gospels, full of eyewitness accounts of people who knew him personally and in the flesh. Contemplate their testimony. And pray - have a conversation with him. Not just asking for things, but sharing your thoughts and feelings, and listening to the answers he brings to mind.
Healthy roots may continue to grow slowly even through Winter. But the best time to put down roots is in the Summer, when the sun is shining and the plant is thriving. It's never too late to seek a strong relationship with God and to put down roots into him. But rather than sitting in your stronghold until it falls, and then reaching to God in panic, it's much better to reach out to him and build a relationship when times are good.
Send down some roots right now.
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