From Bishop Peter Carrell
Being Rooted in Christ
The Bible is pretty clear about strong roots supporting flourishing Christian commitment for Christ’s disciples. Psalm 1 speaks about followers of God being “like trees planted by streams of water which yield their fruit in its season and their leaves do not wither” (verse 3, NRSV). But there is a qualification in the proceeding verses. God’s followers “do not follow the advice of the wicked”, rather “their delight is in the law of the Lord”. Flourishing as a disciple of Christ involves being a “disciple”, that is, a learner whose heart is open to what God teaches through God’s written Word.
Another way of thinking about strong roots is to head to 1 Corinthians 3 where Paul, perhaps with Psalm 1 in mind, talks about the growth of the Corinthian Christians with three images. First, the Corinthians have been fed a spiritual diet of “milk” as infants in Christ, should now be on “solid food”, but are not (verses 1-4). Secondly, the Corinthians are like plants: “I planted (Paul says), Apollos watered, but God gave the growth” (verse 6). Thirdly, with yet another change of image, the Corinthians are a building, a spiritual temple, for which Paul laid the foundation which others are now building on, with the quality and resilience of the building materials to be tested on the day of judgment (verses 10-15). Importantly, Paul says that the foundation he has laid “is Jesus Christ” (verse 11). While the rapid change of images could be confusing, the general sense of what is being said is very clear: our growth as Christians involves something solid beneath us, whether we think of that as roots in the ground, or a strong foundation.
Later, Paul writes to the Colossians, combining both the imagery of “roots” and of “foundation”:
“As therefore you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” (2:6-7)
Nearly two thousand years later, we can say a firm and clear “Amen” to this: God’s church today needs strong, flourishing Christians, whose strength is built on the solid foundation of Christ himself and whose flourishing flows from deep, well-watered roots in Christ. Our emphasis on discipleship for many years now in our Diocese is in keeping with this powerful and inspiring teaching through Psalm 1, 1 Corinthians 3 and Colossians 2 (to say nothing of many other parts of Scripture).
What might we do today to open our lives to Christ as our sure and strong foundation and to Christ as the ground into which our faith is securely rooted?
Bishop Peter.