This week we are going deeper into Psalm 1. Each week of our readings has a different theme.  As you know, or have noticed, the concept of “taking root” is a be theme here at St. Matthew’s.  And, you may or may not know, our church is currently in a season of listening and praying as we talk about our facilities, how do we live into our vision and our calling here at our church.  How do we “take root” into who God has called us to be? I think, even for those that are not a part of St. Matthew’s, one of the great questions of our life and of our faith is this – how are we rooted in what is true?  Our faith must take deep root in truth.  This week we’ll be looking at a passage that talks about taking root in something good, noble, and true.

The next two days we’ll talk about what it means to be rooted, first in Jesus, and the second in a specific vision for our lives.

Our life has to start with a foundation. What in your life defines you at this moment in your life? What is THE thing in your life, right now, that makes you who you are?  In our culture, at least here in the South, our default statement is going to be faith.  That is our culture and that is still the expectation of “good people.”  Faith is what defines us. But, to properly answer this question, it is not best to look at what others are telling us matters or what we think that we are supposed to say, but actually look at our lives.

For Jesus to be the root of our lives, Jesus should be the foundation that all is built upon as well as the filter through which everything is seen and understood.  Jesus must be the source of our lives and everything should flow from there.  This is more than just generic “faith” or “belief” but this nature of being rooted means that our relationships with Jesus will determine everything about our lives.  How we act.  How we treat others.  How we give.  How we pray.  How we serve.  How we love.  Everything.  Everything.

But for us to know what decisions we should be making, for us to know what our lives and roots should be like, we have to be spending time nourishing those roots. Time in prayer.  In worship.  In the word.  Time with Jesus.  Just as a gardener tends to the roots of the plants that they are caring for us, so must we tend to our roots in Jesus.

Tomorrow we’ll talk about some specific ways that we can do just that.

Today, though, don’t think about what you are supposed to say but reflect upon your life.  What truly defines you, your thoughts, and your actions.  The answer to that question will show where your roots are.

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