Rooted: Developing a Faith That Will LastSample

Roots are critical for plants, trees, and bushes to live. They anchor the plant to the soil and provide the way the plant obtains and stores the nutrients needed to survive and grow. It can also be defined as the basis of support or the essential core. So it is not inappropriate for us to talk or think about our roots.

Especially during the time of being away or enrolled in college classes, we may be tempted to want to abandon our roots. Many choose to do that with their moral roots. Some even do that with their Christian roots during their college careers. However, college can be a critical time to really develop your roots of the faith. I want to encourage you to take care of and feed your faith roots. Make sure your faith is grounded and rooted in the truth, so you will not be blown away by the trials and temptations that will come your way along with the new freedom that college brings.

More than likely, you are reading this because you already have placed your faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior. That's the condition of those to whom Paul wrote the passage of scripture you read for today. Paul realized that although they had a faith in Jesus that was strong, they needed to choose to continue to walk in Him. And so do we! To continue to walk with the Lord in college will require you to constantly choose to do so. To assume you can coast in your faith in college is to assure that your faith will end up on the rocks! Make a decision that you will continue in your walk with the Lord. It is the first root of your faith than needs to be strengthened.

You can strengthen this root by remembering what you have been taught. Regardless of the church you called home, they invested a lot in your faith development. Take a few moments and write down two or three key things you remember being taught by pastors, teachers, and your family about the faith. No seriously, stop reading and write them or type them somewhere that you can keep. These truths will be available for you to come back to when you enter into a season of doubt!

If you are in Christ Jesus, then your faith is being built up in Him! Your faith isn't in the church, your pastor, your favorite worship leader, or even your parents. Paul wanted to remind his readers and us that our faith is in Jesus Himself. All the other expressions of faith may fail, but Jesus never failed and never will. I wish all of us were perfect examples of the faith, but I know that I don't always live up to that standard. I'm thankful that my faith is in Jesus rather than my own efforts to be righteous.

Make sure your faith is rooted in Jesus and nothing else!