Keep Your Roots Deep In Him

Colossians 2:7 "Keep your roots deep in him..."

During storms and floods, I often see trees getting uprooted. Some trees can't handle the strong winds and the current of the floods. The roots of these trees don't have much to hold on to. The roots are not deep and strong enough, so the trees are uprooted.

How deeply rooted are we in Christ? Just like in our Christian life, there are strong winds and floods that can "uproot" us if we are not deeply rooted in Him. There are four T's that can uproot us from our faith. These are:

-Temptations
-Trials
-Tragedies
-Trouble

Our "favorite" sins always call upon us specially when we are idle. Many succumb to the sins of the flesh, others to alcohol or drugs. These temptations want to uproot us out of our commitment to Christ. Other temptations may also be bad habits or a bad attitude that we are trying to change and some people around us cause us to be swayed back to them. By God's grace, let us resist these temptations. They are like the forbidden fruit in Genesis. Just there hanging, waiting to be picked.
Trials are a part of growing as a Christian. They are meant to strengthen us in our faith and dependence on God. When things don't go our way and we seem to be oppressed, we ask God to give us the strength to overcome these. God does not give us what we can't bear. During trials, we are humbled. Let not our pride get the best of us, or we will get uprooted in our faith.

There are tragedies in life that come. Mostly unexpected. A death of a loved one, accidents, and calamities are examples of tragic events that may come to one's life. If we are not deeply rooted, we will start to blame God and question His plan.

Sin can lead us to trouble. While the other T's may be caused by external factors, our sinfulness and it's consequences will bring us a troubled life. While we are all sinners, we must be reminded to repent and seek for reformation. Sin's troubles will uproot us from God's presence.

We have to be firm in our faith and seek to grow our roots deep in Him. What can help us to be deeply rooted in Christ?

D - discern through scripture
E - embrace sacraments
E - exercise humility
P - pray regularly

Everyday we make decisions, we discern. If our discerment is not based on the guidance of God's word through scripture, we easily weaken and lose hope. When we discern through scripture, our faith roots are deepened and our convictions are strengthened.

Embracing the sacraments allows us to experience God's graces. Specially during the Holy Eucharist, when we receive the Body of Christ, our souls are renewed by the presence of Christ in us. When we worship Him during Holy Mass, we are brought back to the truth that He is God and we are not. He is in control of our lives as long as we surrender ourselves to Him. Sacraments deepens our understanding of our faith.

Excercising humility makes us grow each day to be like Jesus. Who could be more humble than Christ? There can none other be more humbe than God's Son coming down to earth to suffer and die on the cross in the hands of the ones he loved. When we are not humble, we are easily uprooted by pride. The problem with proud people is that they don't even acknowledge that they have sinned. Humble people are deeply rooted in Christ because they are quick to know they are at fault and that it is better to do the loving thing.

Praying regularly allows us to be more familiar with God's voice, specially when life's situations get more confusing. Our constancy in prayer will give us the sensitivity to his prompting. When we pray, we become more dependent in Him and less on ourselves. Prayer deepens our roots in Christ, specially when we meditate and contemplate on His message for us in our life's situation.

Let not temptations, trials, tragedies, and troubles uproot us of our faith. Instead, let us grow deeply rooted in Christ, standing firm amidst the storms that life may bring.