HOW DEEP ARE YOUR ROOTS?

DAY 197

Matthew 13:5-6 And some fell on rocky soil where there was little depth of earth; the plants sprang up quickly enough in the shallow soil, but the hot sun soon scorched them and they withered and died, for they had so little root.

Our focus today is on the seeds that fell on the rocks. Interestingly, even though there was little soil, these sprang up at once or immediately. The only downside was that the absence of deep roots meant they could not withstand the scorching from the hot sun.

The story of the Chinese bamboo comes to mind. This is a plant which when planted even in the most fertile of soils, watered and nurtured, will have nothing to show for over four whole years. Mind you, this is the nature of this plant because fruits are ‘expected in due season’. Many other plants have a faster fruitbearing timescale and of these, demands will be made earlier.

After four years of apparent fruitlessness, in its fifth year, it shoots up to about 80 feet in the space of about six weeks. Of note, this does not just happen. Those four initial years are spent developing an expansive network of deep and widespread roots, firm enough to support the potential for rapid expansion in the fifth year.

Hence, the question based on the Gospel, ‘how deep and far do your roots go?’ This answer is important because without deep roots in whatever venture, what is threatened will be legacy, not just fruits. Unlike the seed on rocks that sprouted immediately,

your life isn’t simply about the speed of our manifestation, it is about the longevity of your impact.

#sly