Cling-Ons

Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. Ephesians 3:17 (NLT)

Shortly after my husband and I married, we bought our first home together. My husband, an avid gardener, couldn’t wait to get his hands dirty and plant as much foliage around the house as possible. On either side of the garage he planted some Cat’s Claw vines. This type of vine thrives in the desert heat and grows very fast. By the end of our first year in the house, the vines covered the entire front of the garage. While these vines were lush and pretty to look at with pops of yellow flowers, unbeknownst to us, they were also quite destructive to the stucco on the house and the roof shingles. There came a point where it became necessary to remove the vines.

My husband cut the vines down and dug out the roots – or at least, he thought he’d dug up all the roots. The vines grew back and started growing up the front of the garage again. My husband dug down deeper and removed the vines again, but every time he thought he’d destroyed the root system, the hearty vine always reappeared time and time again. Nothing could kill these vines, not even harsh chemicals. It became a battle of wills to vanquish this tenacious plant.

As Christians that’s what we should strive for: being rooted and grounded in Christ and His Word so deeply that nothing can destroy us or separate us from our life-giving source – Jesus Christ.

There will be days when life may leave you battered, ready to quit and feeling all done in. That “Beam up, Scotty,” kind of done in. Those are the days you’ve got to ask yourself, how deep are my roots?

Am I the kind of Christian who gives up at the first sign (or second or third sign) of trouble? Am I someone who quickly abandons their faith when confronted with worry, fear, opposition or doubts?

Being a Christian isn’t all sunshine and unicorns. We have to deal with tough stuff, hard decisions and difficult people just like everyone else in the world. But unlike the world, if we’ve built a solid foundation on Jesus Christ and His Word, we’ve got that hope that we don’t have to fight these battles alone. We’ve got that assurance that nothing can separate us from God’s love. (Romans 8:38)

The world will try to chop us down and dump stuff on us designed to destroy us but we need to remind ourselves DAILY that HE is the vine, we are just the branches and apart from Him – we can do nothing! (John 15:5)

Dig your roots down deep … cling to Jesus and stay strong!

Blessings in Christ,
Kathy K.