I have always loved trees. Flat topped acacias, intimidating and bizarre baobabs with their spindly tops, flame touched poinsettia trees, vibrant Oklahoma redbuds in spring, graceful sighing aspens with their white barks.
They are each unique, yet all are anchored and sustained by what we cannot see – the roots. And roots by a water source ensure the tree’s survival. Fed by these streams (or plentiful rain or underground water), the tree can grow and produce.
We, too, have roots: the people we listen to, the company we keep, the things we consume, whatever we feed our hearts and souls. But not all soil is good for growing. The psalmist warns us to be careful of where our roots sink:
Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers (Psalm 1:1)
We see this man being enticed by the siren call of the world – first walking with the wicked, then standing with sinners and at last he lets the roots sink down: sitting “in the seat of scoffers.” What is his end?
The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away. (Psalm 1:4)
He has no stability, no anchor and is blown away like so much dust.
But the one who has settled in the Lord can sink his roots deep. Even in times of drought or storm, he can lean hard on the Lord and remain firmly rooted:
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers. (Psalm 1:2-3)
Where are your roots?
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