Roots

As Mateo and Leo helped their dad dig out stumps in an area behind their house, Mateo leaned on his shovel. "Is this stump ready to pull yet?" he asked, looking at the one he was digging around.

Dad came over and checked it. "Not quite ready," he said. "Keep digging."

"I've got a root ready for you to chop, Dad!" called Leo.

Dad grabbed the ax and went to Leo's stump. Chips flew as he chopped the root. "This one looks ready to pull," said Dad. He hooked a chain from the truck to the stump. Leo and Mateo cheered as the stump came out easily.

Mateo kept digging, and soon Dad came over and chopped the roots he had uncovered. When the stump was finally ready to pull, Dad hooked it up to the truck. This time, the tires spun, but eventually the stump came out.

After dinner, Dad opened his Bible and read several verses, emphasizing one phrase--"being rooted and grounded in love." Dad looked up. "Does this verse remind you of anything?"

Mateo and Leo groaned and rubbed their sore muscles. "It reminds me of all the roots we had to dig up and chop out," said Mateo. "Those stumps were rooted and grounded in the backyard."

Dad smiled. "You're right. And this verse talks about having strong roots in love. God is love, so how do we get strong roots in Him?"

"Well, we have to know Jesus as our Savior," said Leo.

Dad nodded. "Jesus showed us God's love by dying on the cross for our sins, and when we trust in Him, He fills our hearts with His love. What are some things we can do to grow in our relationship with Jesus?"

"By reading what He has to say to us in the Bible," Mateo suggested. "And by praying."

"And how about by going to church?" added Leo.

"Good," said Dad. "Being rooted in Jesus involves a whole lifestyle of dependence and trust in Him. It was hard to pull the stumps with roots firmly in the ground, and it's hard for Satan to get us to sin or pull us out of fellowship with God when we're firmly rooted and grounded in Jesus."

-Hope L. Aderman