Rooted and Built Up

Rooted and Built Up

A botanist who was also a spiritual director used the metaphor of root systems constantly in her work with people in spiritual formation. 'The part of the tree you can see is determined by the part you can't see,' she would say. 'Shallow roots produce trees that topple in wind. Deep roots are the only real stability.' She spent years helping people go deeper rather than wider — fewer spiritual activities, more depth in each one; less Christian social media, more time in the Word; less religious business, more genuine prayer. Her own rootedness in Christ was palpable to everyone who met her. 'She's deep,' people said. That was the highest compliment in her vocabulary.

Paul's image in Colossians 2:7 combines two metaphors: rooted (a plant with deep roots) and built up (a building on a solid foundation). Both picture stability coming from what is below or beneath, not from the visible surface. 'Rooted in him' — the root system extends into Christ Himself, drawing nourishment from the depths of relationship with Him. 'Strengthened in the faith as you were taught' — the teaching received has become the structural material of an interior life capable of bearing weight. And the result? Overflowing thankfulness. Gratitude is not the starting point of the spiritual life; it is the fruit of being genuinely rooted. A person who is deeply rooted in Christ cannot help overflowing in gratitude — because they know what it cost.