Today’s Scripture: Colossians 2:6-7
6 And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 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.
Today’s Devotional
When I was a teenager I would attend the Oklahoma Baptist youth camp every summer. A whole week of sweating in the Arbuckle hills of Southern Oklahoma while sleeping 20 to a room and fighting over two shower-heads that only produced cold water. Fun times.
One of the things I noticed about the camp experience is that it’s seemingly designed to have a maximum impact on you for that week – and that week alone. In other words, the goal of the camp was conversion (getting saved) and getting right with God. Long-term discipleship was not the objective. And it showed. The glow of camp, and the promises made to God, would last all of a few weeks if you were lucky – but usually just a few days. Paul might say we failed to let our “roots grow down into him”.
It is important to have a starting point in following Christ – of course. A time when we say yes to God and intentionally invite Christ into our lives, believing in him, and asking for forgiveness. But that’s just the starting point. From that moment on we should be letting our roots grow down into him and letting our lives be built on him.
This is discipleship. And it is a lifelong process. It has its ups and downs. We get it right and then we get it wrong. We move two steps forward and one step back. But all the while we are letting our roots grow down into him.
Notice that there is not a program that we have to undertake. There is not a plan we have to implement. Rather, there is just an acknowledgement that we are in Christ – an opening of ourselves to the truth that our lives are wrapped up in Christ. Our roots grow down and our lives are built on Christ as we live in and acknowledge the truth that Jesus is Lord and we are untied with him.
Mountain top experiences like camp and good and needed. But true growth takes place in the “continuing”. Let the knowledge that you are walking in Christ guide your steps this day.
Today’s Prayer
God help us take the experience of the mountain top and apply it to the day-to-day walking. May our roots grown deep in Christ and may our lives – all parts of them – be built on Christ.
Amen
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