A few days ago, one of my twins was putting on his clothes for school. He came into my bedroom looking for shorts. Not that their clothes are kept in my bedroom, but my bed tends to be the destination for the basket of unfolded clean clothes. He pulled some shorts out of the mound of clothes and proceeded to get dressed. As he began to put them on, I told him "You can't wear those, they are too little." He then replied, "So why do you still have them in my basket? I need some new shorts that fit me!” We can learn a lot from that simple statement. If we are growing… Some things should be changing!
Colossians 2:6-7 says, Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.
Paul is writing in these verses to the Church of Colossae in his absence. In verse 5 he says, even though he is absent from them he is excited to see their growth and stability in their Faith in the Lord. Paul didn't instruct them to be content with their current state, but challenged them to now WALK in Christ. They had been given the most precious gift of salvation, now the responsibility to WALK out their faith and life in Christ was of upmost importance. What do you still have in your basket that doesn't fit anymore? Not physically but spiritually. When we accept Christ as our Savior, we are new creatures in him, saved by his grace, and now called to walk out this life, exuding our faith in Him. If we have been saved many years, our life should not look like the precious soul who came to know Jesus yesterday. As we grow in Christ, sooner or later, SOME THINGS WON'T FIT ANYMORE. There may be relationships, actions, places we used to go... that don't FIT ...now that we are growing in Christ. In verses, 6 and 7, Paul is telling them, now that you are firmly rooted, you should be building up! You should be GROWING, REALIZING and REJOICING in the work that God is doing in you. One of my dear friends is a landscaper. Every season I would get flowers from her to plant in our yard. Many times, I would wait till she was done with her planting get my flowers from what was left over. She would tell me, "take all you want.” “If they stay in these pots they will be root bound and die". I want you to let this soak in… ROOT BOUND. What does that mean? For something to be root bound, it means that as the roots take over the inside of a container, it leaves little room for the soil to soak up water, which in turn can lead to root death, and cause the plant to die. What I found interesting was that even if a plant is planted in the ground with plenty of room to grow, if it was rootbound when it was planted it will keep growing its roots in a tight circular direction and never send its roots out into the surrounding soil! Now that will preach!
If we don’t allow Christ to break the things that have kept us growing in the wrong way, we will never be able to live fully for Christ. We were created to be disciples for HIM. We were designed to be his hands and feet. How can we be effective witnesses if our roots never extend out “into the surrounding soil!” We will continue to circle around the same issues we have dealt with for years if we do not allow Christ to, let’s say, “break our root pattern”. When I would get the flowers home, before I put them in the ground I would break the roots apart so that they were not so tightly bound. I wanted them to spread out, so they could become firmly rooted, grow and produce flowers. We have to remove ourselves from our OLD ways, so that we don't become "root bound" and die spiritually. We must allow God to break our “unhealthy patterns.” God has a new and living word for you each day, but you must have your roots ready to soak up the things God has for you! We must allow room for God to move in our lives and pour into us! Plant yourself firmly in him, and soak up the goodness he has for you. What things are holding you “bound” today? Imagine what God could do in our lives if we just allow Him to break those strongholds! Allow God to "produce" great things through His presence and power in your life.
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