Rooted and Built Up
You have accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord. Now keep on following him. Plant your roots in Christ and let him be the foundation for your life. Be strong in your faith, just as you were taught. And be grateful.
Colossians 2:6-7
Once we have made the decision to walk with Christ; that is to give Him our heart and entire life, it is now our duty to ensure we continue pursuing Him. We are told in Colossians 2:6, to follow Him. To follow means we remain at the back of someone or something allowing this individual or thing to guide or lead us. In this context, when we choose to follow Christ we will then give Him permission to lead us and will walk behind Him observing and learning everything He does and then patterning after Him. Think of His disciples for a moment. Jesus called on the twelve (12) “come follow me and I will make you fishers of men” He said. A very profound command. As we read the Gospels we observe that as the disciples walked behind Jesus they learned His way of living for God. He taught them the right way to live which brought honor to God and drew others to God. As they continued following Him their lives were completely transformed and they became a reflection of the Father.
I love the fact that we are often referred to as trees. This could be a tree which is withered and will eventually be destroyed or a tree which is strong and healthy, bringing forth plenty of good fruit. We are further encouraged to remain planted in Christ since we are now part of His life. Interestingly we shouldn’t just agree to be planted but rather rooted. When we are rooted we will be firm, fixed, established and thoroughly grounded in Him. Being firmly planted in Christ in this manner ensures that your foundation is solid as He becomes your stronghold. A stronghold is a place which has been fortified thereby it is protected against attacks. When we become and remain fully established in Christ He becomes our place of defence.When we face situations which seem like it could take us out, God who is our stronghold protects us and fights for us. We are admonished to be rooted in Christ and allow Him to be our foundation (built up in Him) so that when we face controversies which may challenge our faith we will not be easily uprooted. Only those who are not firmly planted will be easily destroyed.
As you journey with Christ make it a daily decision to carefully work on building your faith and relationship with Him. Don’t allow yourself to become slack but if you do fall back, quickly make the necessary adjustments to get on track. Abiding in His Word is one excellent way to become rooted and built up in Him. As a matter of fact the Word of God is our Sword and we shouldn’t go to battle without it because we will lose. When you read and study His Word it becomes a part of who you are and you become equipped with the Truth. Put on the Full Armour of God so when diverse situations arise you will be able to fight and after all you have done to fight in the end you will remain standing. The more you work on building up your spiritual life by being rooted and built up in Him, the better equipped you will be to handle a lot of contradicting philosophies we daily encounter.
Remain planted in Him by all you have been taught. Abide in Him and He will abide you because apart from Him you can’t do anything.
