555

The number of the blog post is 555.

Yep, this is my five hundred and fifty fifth blog post! (I don't have much to say, do I?). :) In late May, I had in mind to make a special entry when I hit the 500 mark, but I totally spaced that off. So then June 12th was coming up, which was my 2nd year blogiversary, but again I spaced it off! So I thought, hmmm, what special milestone is coming up? How about Post Number 555! Why not, eh? And I didn't space it off this time!

What I'd really like to do on this "occasion" is just to take a moment to explain what "Grace Roots" is about, especially for those who might be new here. A few times in the past, I've shared how it all got started. Here's a link to what I think was the first time I shared it.

The core of Grace Roots is this: being rooted and established in grace, growing in grace, knowing who we are in Christ, and living out of our true identity.

Hebrews 13:9 says "it is good that the heart be established in grace" and 2 Peter 3:18 says "grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." Colossians 2:7 says "Let your roots grow down into him (Jesus) and draw up nourishment from him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught."

In Christ we have received a brand new identity. We've become new creations (2 Cor 5:17, Gal 6:15). We've been born again of incorruptible seed (1 Pet 1:23). We've become partakers of the divine nature (2 Pet 1:4). We are living stones, being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood (1 Pet 2:5). We are complete in Christ (Col 2:10). We are the righteousness of God (2 cor 5:21). In Christ, we are a lot of wonderful things! We have been joined together with God as one spirit! (1 Cor 6:17).

What Grace Roots is about is encouraging one another in all these wonderful things, and allowing time to become established in all these things and to grow in all of them. Fruit is a natural product of becoming established in grace and growing in grace. The fruit that grows naturally in the life of a Christian includes love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control (Gal 5:22-23). But what I think the church fatefully forgets is that becoming established, growing naturally, and bearing fruit is a process. This natural process is not automatic and it doesn't happen overnight. Roots take time to grow down into fertile soil and to draw up nourishment, and it can't be forced.

Ps 92:12-14 (NKJV)
The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree,
He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
Those who are planted in the house of the LORD
Shall flourish in the courts of our God.
They shall still bear fruit in old age;
They shall be fresh and flourishing...

As mentioned in the first link above, the palm tree doesn't bear fruit during the first ten years of it's life! It spends that time becoming established in the fertile soil by digging its roots deep down, and simply spreading out its branches toward heaven. Humanly speaking, it's simply setting our faces towards heaven (God), basking in His love and getting to know Him over time (not instantaneously). The full DNA of the cedar of Lebanon is in the tiny seed, and the seed eventually becomes a mighty, mighty tree! But... it doesn't become a mighty, mighty tree overnight! It takes years. Similarly, even though the fullness of Christ dwells in us, neither do we instantaneously grow and mature quickly into people who understand and live in this fullness.

Grace Roots: Becoming established in grace. Growing in grace. Digging our roots deeper and deeper into grace. Plants don't grow by striving. They grow by resting, abiding, in fertile soil. The fertile soil of our lives in Christ is... grace.

Slow

Several different things today have reminded me of one of the major facets of "Grace Roots" that the Lord has revealed to me in the past few years. It has to do with becoming established in grace and growing in grace - and taking all the time in the world that is needed. In other words, not forcing growth, but becoming firmly and solidly established in the fertile soil of grace, and growing in grace over the period of a lifetime.

Some examples from today:

-I read at least two or three different blog posts today about resting (in Christ) and slowing down.

-My wife bought some tulips the other day, but they are still inside the house. (We've had a heck of a time getting consistently warm weather in April). My kids and I were looking at the tulips this morning, and we noticed how they looked a little different than they did yesterday morning, but not dramatically different.

-In my personal thinking today, my thoughts have progressed naturally to thinking about slow growth in the Christian life rather than striving to experience everything so quickly. At one point in my thinking, I came up to a stop sign. On the other side of the road was a driveway to a business with a sign that stuck out to me. It simply said, "Slow."

-Ha! I just got done writing the above examples and I went upstairs for a moment. My wife showed me some of my son's school work in which he was having some problems. On a certain reading comprehension test, he scored only 40%. (He got at least 80% on the other tests). On this particular test his teacher wrote the words, "Slow down." :)

We're in such a hurry these days. We're so focused on just getting things done or accomplished. We're so focused on the final product. We're so very results-oriented.

We're very focused on arriving, but we're not so thrilled with the journey. And yet the journey is the major part of the experience!

And so we live very dysfunctional and very dissatisfied Christian lives... and we may not even realize why. So many times I think it's because we don't see the worth in the day by day, moment by moment journey. We want God to do this now and we want God to show us that now, and while yearning for all these various miraculous 'manifestations' of God, we become less and less aware of His actual presence right now! We want miracles and we want fixes to our problems, and we want to experience victory in our Christian lives, and while those may not always be bad things to desire or to seek God about, our obsession with those things - even if they seem to be things of God - may actually be keeping us from enjoying His actual presence in the now!

Perhaps we haven't yet learned what the Apostle Paul had learned - to be content no matter what the situation. In today's "gospel," if we're hungry God will always make our stomachs full. If we're sick, God will always heal us. If we're naked, God will always clothe us. If we don't have much, we expect God to turn things around and make us plentiful.

But the secret Paul had learned went like this: "I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength." (Phil 4:11-13) (The Philippians had indeed sent aid to him, but as we read his account, it wasn't his need being met that he was concerned with. He was simply happy that his troubles had provided an opportunity for them to show their concern for him).

I've digressed a little bit here, but the point is that we're so focused on obvious signs of growth and obvious signs that God is providing for us, that we miss the simplicity that is in Christ and we miss the joy of being content no matter what our state and we miss the joy of knowing that no matter what our life's condition is in, we can do all things through CHRIST.

This gets me back to slow growth in the Christian life. Perhaps some of us are always seeking but rarely finding because we're looking for the wrong things. Perhaps we're wanting to grow in experiences and manifestations, when God really wants us to grow in knowing Him despite what we see or experience.

This type of growth is slow, that's for sure! But it's a wonderful growing experience, because it's a matter of getting our roots firmly established in Jesus Christ ("rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith" - Col 2:7). To be like the palm tree or the cedar of Lebanon mentioned in Psalm 92 (see third link below), it takes time.

In the past I've written on slow, deeply rooted growth several times. Here are a few links:

Slow cooker or Microwave (this post actually links to a few other things I've written on slow growth).

Grace Roots (this is one of my original posts in which I explained 'Grace Roots,' and how the Lord had been slowly revealing to me what it is about).

Established and growing in grace (four core verses).