For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ … that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. —Ephesians 3:14,17-19 NKJV

I don’t mean to brag, but to live in New England in the fall is to behold an embarrassment of riches. Mundane errands confront you with beauty that will stop you in your tracks. On the way to drop off my kids at school, the slanted morning light hits the golden leaves just so, giving the illusion that they’re glowing. The scarlet crown of the old maple in front of the church downtown will bring a tear to your eye if you stop to gaze at it long enough. People are everywhere, phones raised, admiring trees like elementary school children again. Wow, look at that tree!

So, yeah, trees have been on my mind a lot lately.

And so have roots. Naturally.

Perhaps it’s a tired metaphor if you’ve been a Christian for a while, but there really is something timeless about Paul’s instruction in our verse above to be “rooted and grounded in love.” Sure, right now the leaves are the star of the show in our local area, but the importance of roots cannot be exaggerated. So it is with us in our spiritual lives as well.

But what does it mean, really, to be rooted and grounded in love?

To be rooted and grounded takes time and stillness. The beginning of Psalm 46:10 has become a foundational phrase for me in my spiritual life: “Be still and know that I am God.” Be still means to cease striving. This is an invitation to sink into Him. As lovely as it sounds, I often resist it. After all, we live in a world that praises and applauds movement, effort, productivity. I would never tell you I’m afraid that if I stop striving, my life will lose meaning, but that doesn’t mean I don’t fear it. Investing time in being still before the Lord is a practice in defying the world’s value system and perhaps even the voices in our own heads. When we are still, we find we are held by Him. For me, being rooted means taking time to notice when I am striving for my own good instead of resting in the Lord.

To be rooted and grounded in something means to draw life from it. To be rooted and grounded in love means that Christ’s love is the primary nutrient that fuels our lives. I’ve killed too many houseplants to speak as an authority on fertilization, but I know enough to say with confidence that when the soil lacks a nutrient, the plants show it. But when the soil is balanced? The plant flourishes. If I take a moment to pause and reflect on my life, even just over the past 24 hours, what do I notice about where I’m flourishing? Where is love evident? Where is there a deficit of love? What does that look like in my actual life?

The roots are never the flashy parts, the parts most exposed and viewed by others. But they are important. What a beautiful invitation we receive in Ephesians to be rooted and grounded in Love Himself. And when we are? We start to comprehend the vastness—the width, length, depth, and height—of God’s love for us.

Dear Lord, as we witness the gifts of well-rooted trees around us, may we remember to be still and rooted in You. Help us find time to accept this invitation to sink down deep into Your love and draw life from You. With Your help, may we begin to understand the vastness of Your love.

In His love,
Jayna Venturini

Sweet Selah Ministries

Vision
To inspire a movement away from the belief that “busy is better”
and toward the truth of God’s Word that stillness and knowing
Him matter most—and will be reflected in more effective work and service

Mission
To offer biblical resources and retreats that help women pause (Selah)
and love God more deeply as they know Him more intimately (Sweet)

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