Christianity is about moving forward, individually and collectively.  Chris Brannon continues in our Unrivaled series, talking about being rooted, built up and overflowing.  Paul remind the believers in Colossae that receiving Christ is only the beginning of the Christian life and there must be continual growth through building the life on Him.

Paul provided three images that show the importance of growing in our faith:  we are rooted in Christ, the believer is built up in Christ and to be established in the faith is a legal metaphor referring to maturity.  The first one is that we are to be rooted in Him.  We are kept straight, fed and receive our spiritual nourishment by being rooted in Christ.  In times of drought, the tree’s roots extend deeper into the soil in search of nutrients – this enables the tree to survive in all kinds of severe weather.  The next one is to be built up in Him.  There are a lot of nice things that you can do with sand; but don’t try to build a house on it.  We must be built up in Christ!  The last one is to be established in the faith.  So we grow downward by being “rooted”, upward by being “built up”, inward so that we can be “strengthened in the faith” and outward as we “overflow with thankfulness”.

Chris has us ask ourselves if we are rooted enough.  Are we rooted enough to stand against a culture that desires to draw me away from the path of the righteous?  To stand against temptation in areas where I know I am vulnerable?  How about to be a good example of the compassion of Christ to people in need?  Or to take a stand for Jesus in the face of criticism or ridicule?

We are challenged here to grow up into Him who is the head, not to remain as children.  If we are to grow up firm and fixed in the faith, we must intentionally and purposefully apply ourselves to a training regimen.  One that includes the following:

Daily, systematic reading of the Bible

The practice of solitude and meditation

Regular times of prayer and communion with the Lord

Consistent times of fellowship with other believers – weekend church meetings, community groups, one on ones

Discovering and using my God-given gifts to serve others

Developing relationships with those outside the body of Christ to gain a platform to share the good news of Christ