In a marathon, not everyone who starts the race reaches the finish line. Several people drop out of the race due to one reason or the other. In the same way, several people are dropping out of the race to meet Christ the Redeemer on the last day. The parable of the sower reveals some of the reasons why people will not get to the finish line of the Christian race. One of such reasons is not being rooted and grounded in the word of God. Jesus gives further insight into this in Mark 4:17:
“And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended.”
 
The root of a tree is very important to its survival. If you cut down every part of most trees and leave the roots, the tree will spring up again. All the nourishment that sustains the fruits, leaves and branches of a tree are received through its roots. Also, it is the roots that hold the tree when the wind comes against it. If the roots are few or tiny, the tree will also be limited in its ability to feed and stay fixed; but if the roots are many, big and strong, the tree will feed well and endure. Note that every tree has roots whose size is directly proportional to the size of the tree. It is therefore the size of your root in Christ that will determine how big you will grow in His kingdom. A heavy wind blew one rainy day and it caused a big tree located by the roadside to fall. People marvelled that such a huge tree could be brought down by the wind, but after they looked closely, they discovered that the roots of this tree did not go deep enough into the ground, and so the bottom of the tree appeared flat. No wonder it fell!
 
In the Christian faith, the root refers to the foundation on which one’s faith in Jesus Christ is established. If the foundation is bad, it will definitely affect the growth and stability of the tree. Any fruit produced will have problems if the root is not the right size or does not go deep enough. Many believers who bungled their trip to Heaven had a bad foundation in Christ. Either their roots were developed wrongly, or their roots did not go deep enough. This is why care should be taken to groom young converts very well through the teaching of the word. They should be exposed to the sincere, undiluted milk of the word (1 Peter 2:2). What is the state of your foundation in Christ? Do you have big, strong roots that can give you stability until the race ends? Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.