Deep Roots

Have you noticed how tall the corn is getting in the countryside fields? It seems like only yesterday the little plants were just a few inches high as they emerged through the dark top soil. The old phrase “Knee High by the 4th of July” to this generation seems odd because the plants are usually chest high by the fourth of July! Genetics of corn and soybeans has changed a lot in my lifetime; I can only imagine how much it has changed since both my grandfathers planted their first crop on their family farms.

Always imagining I’d marry a man who lived in the city, I never paid much attention to the crops as a kid. Now that I live surrounded by fields of corn and soybeans, I take a little more notice to their growth. This spring I was especially struck by the process in which a farmer cares for their crop. They prepare the soil by stirring it around, spreading fertilizers, planting the seed, and then trust the Creator of all things for rain and warm sunshine. There was no lack of wet weather early this spring and along with the cool temps, farmers were no doubt getting a little worried about a harvest this fall. Eventually the weather was more favorable and the seedlings sprouted through the top layer of soil, and then the work of spraying for weeds began. Some of the chemicals used for this process will burn your skin right off if you are not properly trained and take appropriate safety precautions. Yet, when diluted down with some water and applied to the field accurately, only the weeds shrivel up, not the tiny, fragile plants. Pretty incredible.

Similarly, our spiritual lives need the proper tender, loving care. As I grew up, my parents read God’s Word to me, we went to church on Sundays, and attended Sunday School and Midweek each week. They taught my siblings and I how to care for the needy and spread God’s love and kindness through the way they lived their life each day. They meticulously cared for not only my physical needs, but also my spiritual needs. Yet, the noxious weed of sin was part of me and threatened to choke out any fruit in my life. As I continued to grow into adulthood, I had to make choices to continue to care for my spiritual life. Sadly, there were times I allowed the weeds of sin to run rampant in my life. I was more concerned about what the world had to offer than seeking the gifts of my Father in heaven. Often times the world’s thrills seemed exhilarating, but usually were empty promises and short lived.

It’s true, there are times I do not care for my spiritual life as I should. Sleeping an extra half hour is more tempting than spending time in silence with my Father. I let a spiritual discipline or two slip and then complain about how hard it is to get back in the groove of practicing them. It’s amazing though, even in my mess, when I eventually recognize something is missing, I see God at work creating a way for me to come back to Him.

6So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness…13When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,14having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. Colossians 2

Are we as meticulous about our spiritual lives as the farmer is with his crop? Do we go to great measure to fix what is not right deep within us? May it not be so of us that we are so tangled up in the things of this world we neglect to care for our spiritual life rooted deep in Christ Jesus.

Becky Ossefoort

 

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