If you ever get a chance to pass through the desert southwest you will encounter hundreds of miles of dry dead soil, colorful rocks, and scraggy shrubs. Yet every now and then you’ll see ribbons of bright green trees flourishing in the midst of the desert.
What is their secret? Inevitably, those trees grew next to a water source, even if it’s a seasonal one. They develop deep roots in the nearby soil, which allowed them to survive in a harsh climate and sometimes even to bear fruit.
God calls us to be like those trees. To be fruitful in life, to make a difference in God’s kingdom in everything we do. There undoubtedly will be hard times, times of turmoil, stress, and suffering. Even in these times, we want to be a “tree” whose leaves do not wither. Even if we’re not bearing much fruit at the moment, we want to remain vital, a “tree” in the mode of Psalm 1.
In Ephesians 3 Paul prays for that kind of strength, and specifically that we might be rooted and grounded in love. That we might be “filled with all the fullness of God”. This Sunday we are going to explore where Paul is headed as he closes the introduction to the Ephesian letter.
