While I’m traveling, my ability to write and post may be hindered. Please be patient with me.

Colossians 1:24-2:19; Ezekiel 27-28; Isaiah 54

“As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.” (Colossians 2:6-7 NKJV)

The Colossians had a universal Christian problem. They had this idea that discipleship involved doing lots of stuff so that they could grow in the faith. Paul reminded them that they would grow in Christ just like they received Him: through the power of the Holy Spirit. He used a plant metaphor of being rooted in Jesus as a way to point out that discipleship happens when we spend time with Him and depend on Him. In short, the word disciple doesn’t describe what we do so much as who we are.

I’m not a gardener. Plants die when I try to grow them. But I’ve been told that if a plant is established in the right conditions, it will grow. Jesus described that situation in Luke 8:5-8. Plants don’t move around looking for food and water, they get their sustenance from being in the right conditions. As followers of Christ, the only way to get the right conditions for growth is to live each day in the presence of Jesus. The first disciples grew in their faith because they walked with Jesus for almost three years. While Bible study, prayer, and all those other practices that we emphasize to help people grow in their faith are good things, the only way to grow as a disciple is when our lives are rooted in Jesus Christ and we spend time with Him. 

Lord, it’s so easy to get distracted in a world that has so many options. Teach me to sit at Your feet so that I can learn and grow in You in all situations.