Don’t ask me where I was born …

When one person wants to learn about and better understand another person, it’s not uncommon for them to ask the person where they were born.

The attempt in asking the question is to better understand a person’s “roots.” If you understand their roots, you might gain some insights about the person. Many people spend their formative years, or even much longer, in the place they were born, so the “roots” of their development can sometimes be influenced to some degree by the place.

In that case, don’t ask me where I was born.

I don’t make that statement to be rude, it’s just knowing that I was born in the state of Arkansas doesn’t reveal my roots or anything about me. My parents left that state while I was an infant, so the only thing I know about my birthplace is from spending about a year there when I was in eighth grade — and it didn’t feel like home because it had never really been my home. So the place of my birth isn’t a place that I have any real, personal roots, and so it doesn’t reveal anything about me.

Where we sink down our roots, though, can be deeply impactful to who we are and become. I can’t help but think that’s why the Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle Paul to write this:

“And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness,” Colossians 2:6-7.

Regarding the topic of roots, the Colorado State University Extension notes the following about the roots of plants: “Because they are out of sight, roots are often out of mind. They are widely overlooked as to their significance in plant health. Eighty percent of all plant disorders include soil/root problems.”

Something similar could be said about our spiritual roots. Most of the problems and “disorders” we experience in life has to do with having our roots in the wrong soil. Paul exhorts us to make sure our roots are firmly planted in Christ, making Him the source on which our lives are built. As Christians, people should be able to gain insight about us not so much from where we come from — our having our “roots” in a place — but in a Person!

Have you let your roots grow down deep into Christ?

Scotty