Are You Rooted?
“… but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” Psalm 1:2-3
I love the trees at camp. They stand tall and broad with brilliant green leaves and needles. In the warm afternoons they provide refuge from the summer sun, in the cool evenings a shelter from the wind, and they sing camp to sleep at nightfall.
In reference to Psalm 1, Eugene Peterson says that, “Comprehension of the invisible begins in the visible. Praying to God begins by looking at a tree.”
We are surrounded by trees at camp, and according to Psalm 1, these trees are an image of you and me when we delight in the law of the Lord. As we delight in the law of the Lord, we’ll be like well-watered trees, bearing fruit, able to withstand the changes of season in our lives.
What does it mean to “delight in the law of the Lord?” Think about all these trees around us - what enables them to stand tall, grow strong branches, and produce such beautiful leaves and needles? The answer lies underground, in their roots. These strong, healthy trees are rooted. It’s the rich soil, nutrients, and water underground that turn these trees into beautiful Camp Greystone trees.
The question for us then, as Peterson would ask, is: “are you rooted?” To delight in the law of the Lord is to delight in God himself - in his character, attributes, commands, and actions in history.
And where do we find these things described for us? In the Bible. The Bible is the nutrient rich soil that turns us into strong, healthy trees. As we meditate on God’s Word, we will become increasingly captivated with a delight and love for the Lord and all that He commands for us.