“Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.” (Ephesians 3:17 NLT)
Just as the roots of a tree serve to provide strength to it by growing deep into the soil and drawing nutrients and firmly stabilizing it, when our spiritual roots grow deep into God’s unfailing love, we are strong and stable in our Christian life. As the lyric to an old hymn describes it, “Like a tree planted by the water, I shall not be moved.” All of the growth and strength in my Christian life over all of these years has come directly from the Holy Spirit within me and from remaining rooted in God’s love.
I can tell you from personal experience that when a man and woman who are each rooted in God’s love join together in marriage, vowing their love for each other, a bond is formed that is so strong that only death can temporarily separate them, but their love never dies. The lyrics of a more modern song describes that bond. “I am loved. I am loved. I can risk loving you, for the one who knows me best loves me most. I am loved. You are loved. Won’t you please take my hand? We are free to love each other. We are loved.”