Deep Roots and Good Soil

I grew up in a Christian home, but did not personally accept Christ until I was about 24 years old. Because the Lord delivered me from so much mess and darkness, I've always had a genuine and committed relationship with Him since the moment of my salvation but, for many years, much of my relationship was based on how I thought I SHOULD act and look as a "Christian" moreso than based on a deep love relationship and romance with my Father and my Savior. In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus talks to His followers about the "hypocrites" of the faith (most often represented by the Pharisees) and how they would live according to religious rules rather than a true love relationship with the Father. The word hypocrisy derives from the Greek ὑπόκρισις (hupokrisis), which means "play-acting", "acting out", "feigning, dissembling" (Oxford English Dictionary)- it was a word often used to refer to those on stage, actors wearing masks, PERFORMING for an audience. In many ways, when I first became a Christian, this is what I was doing. I didn't really know what a true relationship with the Lord looked like but I knew what the church said it was SUPPOSED to look like and so I performed and tried to live up to that image. The problem with this performance is that when you perform, there is no depth there, no true heart-felt response; it is only an outward act with no real substance behind it. Jesus referred to the Pharisees, who often carried out these religious performances for the sake of appearance, as "white-washed tombs". In Matthew 23:27, He says "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean." When we perform our religion with outer acts that we think are expected of us and pleasing to others, we too are those whitewashed tombs. We look good and clean on the outside but on the inside we are empty, rotting, dead, shallow. There is no life within us, no truth.

In Matthew 15:12-14, we are warned by Jesus of exactly what will happen if we choose to live our lives in this shallow way. His followers ask Him about the Pharisees and He answers, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit." If you are living a life based on shallow religion rather than a true relationship, you WILL fall and not only will you fall, but those who depend on you and look up to you will fall also. Also -- If you are living a life based on shallow religion rather than a true relationship, you WILL be pulled up by the roots when the hard times hit - You WILL be uprooted. When the crap hit the fan in my life, I felt uprooted, pulled apart. I questioned my faith, I questioned my God, and I questioned His love for me. One day I was reading the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1-23), where Jesus talks about the different types of soil and the good, deep, healthy soil versus the shallow, dry, bad soil. I was immediately convicted that there was something very wrong with MY "soil" - I had had my roots dug up so easily, my faith so vulnerable, my faith so shallow, because my roots and my faith were based more on that outward performance than on a true realization of my rebirth and my new spiritual identity and relationship with the Father. I realized that I did not truly KNOW who I was in Christ and I did not KNOW how much my Father loved me and wanted a real, love-based relationship with me. It was not until I came to him, arms open, asking Him to show me His love for me, that I began to grow and change and my roots began to grow deeper and deeper.

Ephesians 4:14 and James 1:6 both refer to those whose faith is weak as being like ships that are tossed upon the sea. I don't want to be a ship tossed on the sea, rocking back and forth, with no stability. I want the relationship that cries out Abba! Father! where I can step out in the storm like Peter (Matthew 14) and walk toward my Lord no matter what the wind and waves are doing around me. No matter how scary my circumstances look, no matter how hard the winds blow against me, if my roots are planted so deeply in His love and the truth of His hand in my life, then I WILL NOT be uprooted. I will trust in Him, knowing that no matter what happens, He loves me and He will make all things good. Whatever manure happens in my life, My Lord will take it, mulch it, turn it around, and use it for Holy fertilizer to grow something beautiful!!! I pray to God that I will never go back to putting on the mask, performing without true understanding. I pray that I will always know and rest in His love, trusting Him in all things. I pray for deep roots and good soil, that I may produce beautiful fruit and bring glory to His name, forever, Amen!

Oh Lord, I do not want to have shallow, vulnerable relationships with you. I want depth, Truth, and real life. Lord, you say that if we ask you for wisdom you will give it to us without reproach. Please show each of us the relationship you desire to have with us. Please show us your love - your deep, abiding love - and your acceptance. Lord, lead me deeper and deeper into a true love relationship with you, my Father and my Redeemer, that my faith may be strong and established and that I may never let myself be uprooted again. In Jesus' name, Amen.