Happenings 14/07/22

If you have a green thumb (which I definitely do not!) you may have come across words starting with 'rhyzo' before. Rhyzo-words have to do with roots of plants, and it comes from the Greek word 'rhyzoō', which ... funnily enough ... means 'root'! Roots are the unseen life-source of any plant; the life that you see above the surface has everything to do with the functioning of the hidden roots below the surface which continually provide sustenance to the plant. And these roots can be tenacious things! When we first moved into the church house, we inherited a kiwifruit vine which we decided we didn't really want to keep, and so we set about removing it. However, for the next 6 years, little kiwifruit plant shoots would periodically burst out of the soil from all over the lawn from an extensive and unseen network of roots which wanted to express themselves. I admired the plants stubbornness if not the work it caused me! Why this talk of roots? In his letter to a church at Ephesus, Paul writes, 'I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ ...' Guess what that word 'rooted' is? Rhyzoō! The unseen nutrient source of our lives is to be the love of Jesus for us! The visible living we do and lives we lead are to be fed by keeping ourselves tapped into the unfailing love of God. God's love is tenacious and unfailing. As we relish it, cherish it, experience it, give thanks for it, and remain certain of it ... yes, in ALL seasons of life ... it is then that we can continue to flourish. Are you tapped in? Stop for a moment and give God thanks for the love that he has for us in Christ Jesus!

In Him,
Murray