Through the work of the Spirit in our lives and through the discipline of our minds (Romans 12:2), the roots of our lives must become firmly planted in the reality of God’s love as revealed in Christ. Like the ground from which a tree’s roots are nourished, God’s love is the one source from which we are to drink and derive nourishment.

  • When we are empty, we are to drink the fullness of God’s love.
  • When we face temptation, we are to drink the strength of God’s love.
  • When we catch ourselves feeling superior, we are to drink the mercy of God’s love, remembering that we ourselves are forgiven sinners.
  • When we feel condemned, we are to drink the forgiveness of God’s love.
  • When we feel despair, we are to drink the hope of God’s love.
  • When we feel despondent, we are to drink the joy of God’s love.
  • When we feel apathetic, we are to drink the passion of God’s love.
  • And when we feel lifeless, we are to drink the abundant life that is God’s love.

It is all there in Christ. He is the truth and he is the life (John 14:6). We must be rooted in him and in him alone (cf. John 15:4–5).

God’s love, as revealed in Christ, is also the source of our grounding, our stability, in life. Trees with deep roots bend when strong winds come, but they are not uprooted like trees with shallow roots. So too, our stability in life depends on our being firmly grounded in the reality of God’s love as it is revealed in Christ. If our lives are grounded in idols from which we try to get life, we are building our house on sinking sand. But if our lives are grounded in Christ as “the source of [our] life” (1 Corinthians 1:30), our house is built upon an immovable rock (Matthew 7:24–27).

If we are not rooted and grounded in the revelation of God’s love in Jesus Christ, the Accuser will rise up whenever misfortune strikes to turn us into accusers of God, and thus of ourselves and other people. We must be rooted and grounded in God’s love as revealed in Jesus Christ, and in nothing else.

Boyd, Gregory A.. Repenting of Religion: Turning from Judgment to the Love of God (pp. 134-135). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.