I am convinced that my friend can grow hair on a rock. Well, maybe I’m going too far, but her garden does amaze me. When we first moved to this area this dear saint gave us some turnips that were unbelievably large … nearly as big as a human head. One root filled a pot, yet it wasn’t tough or stringy like most oversized vegetables are. When I asked her what the secret of her success was, her answer was surprisingly simple. Instead of buying pregrown seedlings she went back to basics, and planted her garden strictly from seed. When I asked her why this was important she told me that many of the seedlings she bought over the years were “rootbound”, and as a result never did quite as well as it should have done. For those of you who aren’t gardeners, let me explain what “rootbound” is. The roots of the seedling, designed by God to reach deep into the ground to nourish and water the plant, hit the sides of the pot the plant is growing in. Unable to reach downward the roots begin to follow the sides of the pot until they knot up on themselves. You can see a rootbound plant when you pull it from its pot. The roots look like a knotted, twisted length of rope. A rootbound plant never reaches its full potential because its trained to stay within the confines of the pot, even when the pot is removed. Rootbound things are enslaved to something that is no longer there. The pot is gone, but the roots still follow its shape.

People become “rootbound” as well. Every day is the same, and we follow a predetermined path until our day is over. We get up, go to work, come home, watch television, and go to sleep. We have a routine, and we follow that routine until the day we die. Yet …. shouldn’t there be more to life? The Bible tells us that there IS more to life than following the same old routine that everyone else follows. Jesus Christ said: “… I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more ABUNDANTLY.”(John 10:10 (KJV)) How can you find that “abundant life” that Jesus promised? 

First you must come to Jesus Christ, accepting Him as your as Savior. You “confess Him with your mouth” and “believe on Him with your heart” (Romans 10:9). Second, you must follow Jesus and His Holy Word as you live your life. Recognize that you are no longer like the unsaved world. Romans 6:16-18 states: “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? (17) But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. (18) Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.” You are freed from a sinful, rootbound condition so you can serve Jesus. The Christian is a FOLLOWER of JESUS, not a follower of sin or of the world. Following Jesus means that you must move outside of your “comfort zone”. Whatever He leads you to do, step out on faith and do it. You were saved to serve Him, not sin. You have been removed from the world to walk in newness of life – are you doing it? 

Are you actively involved in your local Church? If not, you are not being obedient to the Master. Are you spending hours every day watching television, but never praying nor studying your Bible? If so you will never discover that “abundant life” that Jesus promised. The Christian grows in his faith by study of the Word and prayer (1 Timothy 4:5). Are you telling others about Jesus Christ, or would your fellow workers be surprised to find out you are “religious”? In the first century Church Augustine of Hippo stated “I wept at the beauty of your hymns and canticles, and was powerfully moved at the sweet sound of your Church singing. These sounds flowed into my ears, and the truth streamed into my heart”. Marginal people can never have more than a marginal impact on the world around them. Jesus Christ has removed the believer from the ways of sin and death. Stop following the confines of the world, and turn your eyes upon Jesus! (1 John 5:4)

Come join us at Riverview 798 Santa Fe Pike Columbia TN

Sunday services 8:30 am, 11 am, 6 pm.