Jeremiah 17:5-8

Thus says the LORD:
            Cursed is the one who trusts in human beings,
                        who seeks his strength in flesh,
                        whose heart turns away from the LORD.
            He is like a barren bush in the desert
                        that enjoys no change of season,
            but stands in a lava waste,
                        a salt and empty earth.
            Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD,
                        whose hope is the LORD.
            He is like a tree planted beside the waters
                        that stretches out its roots to the stream:
            it fears not the heat when it comes;
                        its leaves stay green;
            in the year of drought it shows no distress,
                        but still bears fruit.

Imagine yourself as a tree. You have a strong, tall trunk, big, leafy branches, and you produce lots of great fruits. You are the envy of the “neighborwood.” No other tree around has such a tall, strong trunk, leafy big branches, or produces as much fruit as you do. They all wish they were more like you.

But you have a secret that the other trees don’t know. Your roots don’t go down very far. Back when you were a sapling, you put all your energy into growing a tall trunk, leafy branches, and lots of fruits. The water was abundant in the soft, sandy soil; you saw no point in wasting energy on roots. But now the water table has dropped. You find it hard to pull in what you need. And the sandy soil feels precarious. You grip it as best you can with your stunted, shallow roots. Every time a strong wind catches your big, leafy branches, you think this might be the end. You’re just barely hanging on. And you’re so tall and heavy that when you do finally fall, you’ll crush lot of the envious neighboring trees when you go.

Now, imagine yourself as a different tree: short and scrawny. This tree is nothing much to look at; no one envies this little tree. But you have a secret: you invested a lot of energy into your root system. You sent a taproot deep into the earth, below the sandy soil into solid and fertile earth. You kept going until you tapped into a cool, deep underwater river. You never run out of water. Then you sent roots around to all the neighboring trees. You intertwined with them, and they intertwined with you. When big winds blow through the neighborwood, not only do your solid roots hold, but the surrounding trees also help to hold one another up. Even a hurricane wouldn’t damage you. Your neighbor got clobbered by a big falling tree and it broke his trunk off right at the base. You thought he was a gonner. But now his trunk is sending up fresh, green shoots. He has deep roots just like you. It’s good to have friends like that, friends who hold one another up.

Sometimes we envy the people around us. They have so many more things and so much nicer vacations than we do. But what we don’t know is, their financial foundations are shaky. They’ve never learned to save and budget; they get deeper in debt every year. Without deep roots, a crash is coming. If this is you — don’t be afraid to ask for help. Seek out budget counseling now and be prepared to make some hard decisions, let go of lots of leafy branches, and build a better foundation.

Sometimes we envy the couples around us. They look so cute together and they never seem to fight. If only my marriage were that happy. But what we don’t know is, they’ve never learned how to have healthy conflict. Neither of them have learned to draw life from Jesus. Their relationship looks all nice on the outside, but they haven’t tapped into living waters and they are draining one another. Without good conflict skills and a deeper life of faith, they will soon begin to dry up and wither. If this is you, seek marriage counseling. Get help to put down deeper roots.

I am saddened by the small number of Christians who have a deep and consistent prayer life. Even many regular church-goers give Jesus only just a passing thought. It’s really important for us to put down deep roots. Regular prayer is the only way I know to do this.

Those who trust in the Lord are like a bush planted by the water. The lives of Christians may not be flashy. We may often feel poor, hungry, weeping, and mocked. But it we put down our roots into Christ, and we stretch out our roots to others, we can weather any storm. Don’t envy your neighbors who are rich, who are filled now, who laugh and all speak well of — their collapse is coming. Don’t stand in their shadow!

Luke 6:17, 20-26

Jesus came down with the Twelve
and stood on a stretch of level ground
with a great crowd of his disciples
and a large number of the people
from all Judea and Jerusalem
and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon.
And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said:
            “Blessed are you who are poor,
                        for the kingdom of God is yours.
            Blessed are you who are now hungry,
                        for you will be satisfied.
            Blessed are you who are now weeping,
                        for you will laugh.
            Blessed are you when people hate you,
                        and when they exclude and insult you,
                        and denounce your name as evil
                        on account of the Son of Man.
Rejoice and leap for joy on that day!
Behold, your reward will be great in heaven.
For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way.
            But woe to you who are rich,
                        for you have received your consolation.
            Woe to you who are filled now,
                        for you will be hungry.
            Woe to you who laugh now,
                        for you will grieve and weep.
            Woe to you when all speak well of you,
                        for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.”

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