For this post, the picture is more than just a stock photo that goes with the theme of my writing. It's a true-life example of a spiritual truth. Do you see the tallest plant in the picture that is in the green pot in the center? It's a sedum plant - a perennial plant that is easy to grow and hard to kill. I should know because I normally have a black thumb instead of a green one!
My Aunt Glenda gave me that plant at least ten years ago. When she first brought it to me I planted it in that little white enamel container just in front of the watering can in the picture. For years, I carried that old cookpot with the sedum from house to house as we moved 5 times during those ten years. I never transplanted it into the ground because I never knew exactly how long we would stay at each new house. For those ten years, it dutifully turned green in the spring, sent out little flowers in the summer, died back to sticks in the fall and winter and continued the cycle every year. It didn't grow any bigger but it stayed healthy and functioned as it should.
When I created this little garden patch around an old tree stump this summer, I finally moved it to the brown pot just to the left of where it is now. To my surprise, it quickly grew and filled that pot. I had been looking for a tall plant to be the centerpiece of the entire arrangement and it became apparent that I didn't need to look at the nursery for a focal point for the space. The sedum had grown into that role and I moved it once again. Again, it grew several inches and is exactly what I needed to anchor this spot in the yard.
This plant always had the potential to grow and flourish, but I'd kept it almost root-bound in its original container. Once it was given the opportunity to expand and grow, it exceeded all my expectations - not once, but twice.
I think some Christians get root-bound. They come to know Christ and for a while, they learn and grow and mature. They find a role in service within the church where God has placed them. However, as the years go by, they may find themselves stagnant. They are still productive but they have limited themselves to one role - one container - when there are so many more possibilities for their lives that they have never allowed themselves to explore. Often when they step into a larger role, they will find that their growth accelerates and they find themselves doing things they never imagine. Being transplanted may sometimes even mean a move to a new church home, but at the least, it means a move of faith as they expand their sphere of influence.
You can be useful and valuable in your current area of service, but when you are faithful in the things God entrusts to you, there is always an opportunity for promotion and change as He gives you more responsibility and the possibility of unimaginable things in your future. Are you root-bound? As my pastor asked our church family this morning to go after God with a desperate desire, I urge you to seek God for where He is leading you. It's time to grow!
Psalm 92:12-14
The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green.
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