Rooted in Love

Remember that science experiment we did in elementary school? The one with the stalk of celery? In case you didn't have a quality education (insert smile here), I'll tell you about it. You cut the end off a stalk of celery, exposing the vessels that carry water up the stem. There is likely a scientific term for these vessels, but if I ever heard it, I've forgotten it. Anyway, you then put the celery into colored water and wait. In a few days, the celery leaves will be tinged with the color of the water.

In our Sunday School class this week, Carol Woods told this story (She said I could use it): When Carol taught sixth grade here at GBA, she had a vine she called Betsy in her room. The students asked one day what would happen if they fed Betsy jello. Carol figured that jello would not hurt the plant, as it is mostly made of protein and sugar, so she said, "Let's find out." (That's what a good teacher says--Let's find out.) So the students fed the plant red jello, and in a few days---you guessed it! the leaves of the vine had taken on a lovely red hue.

What a great lesson! Carol's plant took in the jello through its roots and its appearance changed. The substance it was rooted in became apparent to onlookers. We are told in Ephesians 3:17 that we are to be "rooted and grounded in love." When God's love is part of a woman's very being, everyone around her can see it.

There is a lot of hatefulness in the world today. I'm not suggesting, like some, that disagreeing is "hate speech." As Christians, we must stand for truth, but we can "[speak] the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15). We must seek to display the gentleness and meekness of Christ. We do this by immersing ourselves in his love. We immerse ourselves in his love by reading his word, spending time in prayer, and doing the good work he has planned for each of us.

Don't you want people to see Jesus when they see you? To see his tenderness and his mercy? "Beloved, let us love one another" (I John 4:7), and let us demonstrate his love to the lost around us.

--Sherry Poff