(Click on the link to read today's verses.)
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
As I write this morning in the quiet place I have a beautiful view of my front yard. My yard is full of trees and in the center of the yard are two large trees that were there when we built our home some twenty years ago. I'm always amazed when I look through old pictures at how much they have grown. It is a slow process, I wouldn't even recognize if it weren't for those pictures.
The Bible often uses a tree as a symbol of our Christian life.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither
---whatever they do prospers.
Psalm 1:3
Paul's words remind me we must be rooted in Him. What happens under the ground... in the dark... where no one sees... is what makes a tree strong. It makes us strong, too. By faith we pray, study, praise, and God uses those very things to grow us up in Him. Like my tree in the front yard, sometimes we do not even recognize our own growth. We go from little saplings to full grown, providing fruit and shade for others and it takes an old picture before we realize what God has done.
Imagine a snapshot of who you were before Jesus captured your heart. Now take a look at who you are today. Give thanks for how you've grown.
Lord, my desire is to grow to be like You.
Teach me to root my life in You, strengthen me,
encourage me with revelation of growth,
fill me to overflowing with thankfulness.
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