Deep Roots

"But since they don't have deep roots, they don't last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God's word." Matthew 13:21

Richard Foster has said, "The crying need today is not for more intelligent people or more gifted people, but for deep people." Deep takes time, and roots don't grow to great depths overnight. I read that even the roots of a simple, flower can grow 40 inches. And did you know that the roots grow before the emerging of anything above the surface of the soil? The foundation for growth is established before the shoot is seen. The key to deeper roots is to water deeply so that the roots grow downward to find the water.

When we look at a beautiful garden, we rarely think about the roots below the dirt that are providing all that the flowers need to grow. It's what is happening in the quiet of the soil that is giving the plant life, strength and beauty.

How are your roots? There are so many surfaced-soul believers. They know enough about Jesus to join a conversation and appear to blend in with the others growing in His family, but they are content to live with faith that is skin deep. When the storms of life come, they don't know that underlying place of quiet rest that is unaffected by the winds of fear, worry and panic.

I recently read an illustration about tourists visiting the Great Barrier Reef. There are those who stand ankle-deep, amazed at the wonder of the vast ocean. Others enjoy a pastime of snorkeling, playing it safe near the surface. But a few brave visitors scuba dive, plunging deeply beneath the waves and enjoying the wonder of the ocean depths. When each one is asked to describe their experience later, although all had been in the same location, it's only those who went deep, who were exposed to the richness that is unique to the depths, who really knew the Great Barrier Reef. "The inscrutable glories of the deep cannot be described to those hooked on the safety of shallowness." (Calvin Miller)

It has been said that "deep is not a place we visit in our search for God, it's what happens to us when we find Him." Deep should not be an occasional dip on a Sunday morning or a weekly small group. Deep happens daily through diving into God's word and passionately pursing Him. Deep roots are possible, and once experienced the interest in shallow living no longer satisfies. 

Let's suit up and become scuba divers, discovering the beauty only known by diving deep.