Being Rooted in Love - May 26

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 97, 99, [100]; PM Psalm 94, [95]1 Sam. 16:1-13a; Eph. 3:14-21; Matt. 8:18-27

One of my favorite elementary school science experiments was when the teacher would take food coloring and place in the water of a white pedaled flower.  Almost overnight, the carnation or rose would begin to take the color of the food coloring mixed with water.  Pink water, pink carnation.  Green water, green rose.  Voilà! 

Which leads me to this beautiful passage in Ephesians where the author prays for the Christian community, “that Christ may dwell in your hearts, as you are being rooted and grounded with love.”  To sum up the Christian faith, at least as I understand it, ‘you (and all of humankind) are unconditionally loved by God.’ I know a lot of traditions like to focus on other things, maybe what you are supposed to believe, or how you are supposed to pray, or what you are supposed to wear or not wear, eat or not eat.  Some traditions are even concerned with who we love.  But consider this – if the premise of our faith is God’s love, then our Christian faith should be about modeling that love for the world and each other in return.   

And while a lot of traditions worry about rules, and who is in and who is out, think about the image offered in Ephesians – you are rooted and grounded with love.  Maybe living our faith out in this world is as easy as remembering that we are loved, dwelling in that love, and letting it change the way God’s beauty is reflected in this world.  When we will fill our vases with God’s love, we begin to reflect that love in a way that can be recognized by others. To live as God calls us, we have to be rooted in love.

Today, instead of worrying about who you are, and who you are not, what you have done or what you have left undone, spend some time resting in the reality that you are unconditionally loved as a child of God.  And if you are worried about becoming a better person, or a more faithful person, then this scripture would point us to focusing on being grounded and rooted in love as a faithful place to begin.

— John+ 

Questions for Self-Reflection

  • Do you believe that you are loved unconditionally by God?  Are there things that you wish were different or you could change? Are those barriers to accepting God’s love?

Daily Challenge

  • Think of a person or people that frustrate you.  Remind yourself that they are a beloved child of God, just as you are.  Does this change your feelings or approach to that person or those people?

John Burruss