Bouquets are beautiful.

They can change the atmosphere in a room. They can change someone’s mood in an instant. They can convey a hundred words with none at all. But bouquets have no lifeline, no anchor to nutrients. Without roots, bouquets just die.

We need roots, too.

We can flash a smile and a sunshiny face, but Christianity is much more than that. It’s a deep philosophy, a life-moving, attitude-changing, decision-influencing, 365-day way of living and loving. That missing paycheck, that school bully, that sudden home repair, that desperate situation won’t wilt us if we have ourselves rooted in God.

Are we pressing into Him in prayer? Are we absorbing His words? Are we feeding ourselves with thankfulness? Are we investing a bit of our finances in His work? Are we trusting Him to provide as we keep a Sabbath? Are we getting and giving encouragement to other Christians? That’s how we dig ourselves down into Him and His ways. We need to secure our roots, so when life’s blustery winds blow, we don’t.

Being rooted isn’t just about us. Roots literally keep soil grounded. Our marriages, our families, our communities: the figurative garden that surrounds us needs us to stay rooted in Jesus. It is the prevalence of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness and self-control, the spirit of God in Christians, that ultimately roots our world.