Rooted in love
For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of dry ground (Isaiah 53:2).
Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled (Hebrews 12:14-15).
During the COVID-19 pandemic I have been impressed by the deepening affection we have experienced amongst the people of God. The crisis has had widespread and traumatic effects around the world. But there is much evidence of tender-heartedness and a desire to support and encourage each other in challenging and testing times.
In Isaiah 53 the Saviour is described as a tender plant. He rises up in a sterile and spiritually bankrupt nation to dispense, not judgement, but grace: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John1:14). He displayed grace and truth in His humility, as the tender-hearted Son of Man. W.E. Vine points out that one of the words meaning “tender-hearted” literally means “of good-heartedness”. Now, as His people, we are to be characterised by a love for each other that distinguishes us as the disciples of the Lord Jesus. Crisis draws us to the Saviour and, as a consequence, we are drawn nearer to each other. And the love that reigns in our hearts is spread abroad.
The Book of Hebrews reminds us of the “dry ground” of difficult times. A picture is painted of inactivity and weakness. The hands are not engaged in work, and the knees are not able to support heavy loads. Have you ever watched those extraordinary athletes called weightlifters? Their backs and knees are always supported as they lift weights the human body was not designed to lift. Our knees are essential for lifting heavy weights. In Hebrews 12:12 they illustrate spiritual weakness. We are encouraged to “strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees”. How do we do this? By lifting up holy hands (1 Timothy 2:8) in prayer and bowing down on our knees in prayer to become “strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” (Ephesians 6:10). In so doing, at the throne of grace, “we … obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). And we are enabled to walk the straight path of discipleship and pursue peace and holiness.
We are also warned to watch that we don’t stop walking in the grace of God and allow bitterness to fill our hearts. Yesterday, in America, we had a shocking demonstration of what can happen when the bitterness of defeat overwhelms people. Bitterness can be caused by envy and self-seeking (James 3:14) and, whatever the cause, it can spread to damage our fellowship. Christ is to dwell in our hearts through faith and “being rooted and grounded in love” we can follow the instruction: “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamour, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 3:17, 4:31-32).
