Bob Tamasy
Early in my walk of faith I was encouraged to join a small group discipleship program called the ‘2:7 Series.’ I decided to participate, and it was one of the best decisions I ever made.
The 2:7 Series was developed by The Navigators, a parachurch ministry that for many years has emphasized both evangelism and disciple-making, in keeping with Jesus’ commands to His followers. The ‘2:7’ refers to Colossians 2:7, which reads, “having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.”
Those 25 words say a lot, but the ones that immediately jump out at me are “firmly rooted.” What comes to my mind are images of stately trees suddenly being uprooted in a severe storm, like a hurricane or intense thunderstorm. In our area we’ve recently experienced heavy rains with strong winds which upended a number of trees, in some cases knocking down power lines.
It’s not always the case, but when trees that have stood proudly for many years fall suddenly during storms, it’s often because they had shallow root systems. Nothing to anchor them to the ground when natural adversity in the form of heavy precipitation and harsh winds struck. They weren’t firmly rooted.
Spiritually speaking, having a firm, deep root system is even more important. Because challenges, trials, tribulations, major crises – or whatever you want to call them – are inevitable in this life. Faith will be tested, probably more than we’d like, and our responses will reveal how firmly rooted it is.
The apostle Paul addresses this in his letter to the ancient church in Rome, just after he makes the now-familiar declaration, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). These can be greatly encouraging words, but only if we’re convinced that God is for us and that He works all things for our ultimate good.
A few verses later Paul writes this underscore: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?... No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels or demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:35-39).
If we’re firmly rooted in our faith in an all-powerful, never-changing God, we can find much strength and assurance in such promises. However, if our spiritual root system is shallow, the proverbial mile-wide and one-inch deep, when the storms strike we’re likely to topple just as huge trees supported only by shallow roots.
At the very beginning of the Psalms, we see a description of a person whose faith is firmly rooted: “He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.” The preceding verse tells us what these “streams of water” are that enable this person to flourish: “…his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:2-3).
In the small group discipleship program of which I was a part for a couple of years, we were encouraged to hear and read the Scriptures, study them, memorize key Bible verses, and meditate on them to take in as much spiritual nourishment from them as possible, much like a cow chewing its cud over and over. (I hope to write more about this in a future post.)
My favorite devotional writer, Oswald Chambers, focused on this in one of his recent meditations in My Utmost for His Highest. He said:
“God doesn’t promise to make us immune to trouble; God promises to be with us in trouble…. Trouble is never a noble thing, but neither is it all-powerful…. Let trouble be what it is. Let it be exhausting and irritating. But never let it separate you from the reality that God loves you.”
Someone has said that every follower of Christ either is in the midst of a trial, has just come out of a trial, or is getting ready to go into one. We’re broken people living in a broken world. But if we’re firmly rooted, our faith anchored in the timeless, limitless promises of our eternal God and His Word, no matter what hardships or adversities we’ll confront, they won’t take us down.
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Robert J. Tamasy is a veteran journalist, former newspaper editor, and magazine editor. Bob has written, co-authored and edited more than 20 books. These include ”Marketplace Ambassadors”; “Business At Its Best: Timeless Wisdom from Proverbs for Today’s Workplace”; “Tufting Legacies,” “The Heart of Mentoring,” and “Pursuing Life With a Shepherd’s Heart.” He writes and edits a weekly business meditation, “Monday Manna,” which is translated into nearly 20 languages and distributed via email around the world by CBMC International. The address for Bob's blog is www.bobtamasy.blogspot.com. His email address is btamasy@comcast.net.