What are roots in the life of a believer? How can a believer develop roots? We see in plants that normally roots are that part of a plant that is underground. You easily see the stem, the branches, the leaves and the fruits, but the roots are hidden.
Although hidden, they are so important to the plant that once they are cut or they decay, the plant is ruined, regardless of the size of its stem, branches, leaves and fruit. Roots are so important that whenever they are removed, the plant becomes absolutely useless. The plant does not have roots as its end, but without roots, fruit which is the goal of the plant, is impossible.
We can therefore make the following statements:
No roots = no fruit
Poor roots = poor fruit
Good roots = good fruit.
In the Christian life, roots talk of a person’s secret relationship with the Lord Jesus. Roots talk of his union with Him. So in a sense, it is root (i.e. union with the Lord) and in another sense, it is roots because the union with the Lord is determined by a number of factors. In the following discussion, we shall use the word roots to imply the factors that make up for union with the Lord Jesus.
There are many things that depend entirely on the Lord Jesus in a believer’s relationship with Him and man cannot do any of these. The Lord being faithful, always does that which is His to do. There are other things which the believer must do and which the Lord will not do in his place or for him. In talking about the factors that make up for vital union with the Lord, we shall only dwell on those which are the responsibility of man.
No plant can develop root in one go. There is no single experience that a believer can have after conversion that will guarantee him roots for the rest of his life. Roots are developed as a process, on a daily basis, by doing the right things.
There are three things that I consider basic to root-development in the Christian life. They are:
- Obedience
- Prayer
- Bible Study
Continue the reading in “The Sower, the Seed and the Heart of Men” by Prof. ZT Fomum