Roots That Don't Let Go

Monday, July 18, 2022

And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him.  Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him.  Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.  Colossians 2:6-7

I’m “second-career” in ministry.  The first (beside my 2-year stint in the Army) was 10 years with an insurance company as a sales agent.  We had office meetings every Friday morning to share sales results.  The meeting always included a 5-10 minute “inspirational” talk by our manager, Frank.  He would always leave us with a memorable sentence or quip.  One has stuck in my mind for the past 50 years:  

I’m not sure where he got that bit of wisdom, but it makes sense.  Of course Frank was pointing at the hard work of keeping at the tasks that brought success, even when you’re too tired, bored, scared, lazy, or ready to cry.  It’s a matter of having faith in what you’re doing to overcome the temptation to quit doing that which will bring success.

Now, that’s a great self-help/motivational-tool for those of us who would rather be sitting in the corner watching TV, reading a book, or surfing Facebook, when you should really be doing your job.  It also serves as a brief introduction to the Apostle Paul’s instruction to the church. 

Without mincing words, my old boss, Frank, would say Paul was saying: 

You started by faith…don’t stop.

That’s an encouragment we all need at times.  The temptation to give up, toss it all, or just, plain, quit…is greater during stressful times.  And haven’t the past couple of years been stressful?

·       A contentious presidential election, complete with riot and assault on our nation’s capitol…

·       Covid…and now, Monkeypox…

·       Inflation at the gas pumps, grocery stores, and deflation of the American dream bubbles…

·       War in Ukraine, with the U.S. and Russia doing the Cold War dance again.

Going back to Paul’s “basics” of the Christian faith is what the Apostle says is the way to continue following Jesus…the Christian faith is all about walking by faith.  We continue to follow Him in the same way we began with Him…on faith that He is who He said he is, and will do what He said He’d do.  That is not rocket-science, it’s continuing to trust the roots of how God hard-wired us to trust His grace will see us through whatever circumstances the world throws at us.

For You Today

This is no sales meeting, and I’m not Frank; it’s just an ordinary Monday, and you’ve got some praying, ministering, sharing, loving, and blessed living to do, both in giving and receiving. 

Keep going, keep listening, keep being still, keep being busy, keep being His.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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To dig deeper into today’s topic or Scripture text:  Where Are You Going?  and Recalculating

[1] Images:  Pixabay.com  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©