p. 320 | Rooted in Love by G. M. Howe

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Jul 20, 1882

Rooted in Love.

By G. M. Howe

THE apostle Paul, in the course of his letter to the Ephesian Christians, breaks forth into one of the most sublime and comprehensive prayers ever uttered by human lips: "That He would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his spirit in the inner man; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God." If we turn to the natural world, and note carefully how all forms of plant-life grow, we shall get a clearer insight into the deep meaning of this remarkable prayer than we otherwise could. A healthy and vigorous plant is half under-ground. For every branch visible above the earth there is a root more or less deeply buried in the soil. If we wish to be exact in our statement, it will be to say that all real growth must begin at the root. The tiny rootlet feels its silent way through the dark mold, drawing therefrom those chemical properties which suck up in the sap, form new wood, foliage, blossoms, and fruit.

Every gardener knows very well that if a plant is not properly rooted, it becomes sickly and speedily dies. If a shrub is planted on top of a rock, or in a heap of sand, it may be ever so carefully nurtured, yet its leaves will droop and fall. Transplant it in a plat of ground suitable for its highest development, and it will strike its roots deeper and deeper, and send up strong, vigorous shoots, covered with rich foliage, and in due time flowers and fruits.

This law of plant-life furnishes us with the key to the apostle's prayer, and reveals to us the reason why he desires the Christian disciple to be thoroughly "rooted and grounded" in the love of Christ. He knows from the fullness of his own experience, that this is the only way in which the believer can grow and bring forth in his daily life the "peaceable fruits of righteousness." As in the case of the plant, the Christian must have a hidden as well as a visible life. He must have a deep and abiding experience of the love of God as manifested in his Son Jesus Christ. The roots of his spiritual life must constantly feed from the springs of love divine. From this one source it must derive all its nourishment. Thus, and only thus, can the believer become a "tree of righteousness." Some one has well said: "There is a piety, so called, that is like a Christmas tree—it is all for show." There is a profusion of leaves, but little or no fruit. If fruit does appear, it is far from being that perfect fruit which is required for the glory of our Father in Heaven. It is not enough that we should express sorrow for sin, and join some church, and engage half-heartedly in some Christian work. There is too much of this kind of Christianity in the world to-day, and it is for this reason that the church is no more aggressive as a power for the salvation of men. There never was more machinery employed than at the present time, but it needs vitalizing.

The individual members of our several communions need to be more firmly "rooted and grounded in love," in order to develop the latent power of the church. The life which is most completely hidden in Christ the Lord, will be the most potent for good in this sin-smitten world of ours. When every professing Christian is truly "rooted and grounded" in this love, then, and not till then, will the visible church of the blessed Redeemer become the mighty influence for the salvation of the race which it was designed to be. Then when believers say to dying men around them: "Come with us, and we will do you good; for the Lord has spoken good concerning Israel," they will accept their invitation because they believe it. Shall we not, then, as Christians, come in simple faith to the great Head of the church, who "is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think," that we "may be filled with all the fullness of God."—Rev. G. M. Howe, Congregationalist.