Formation Journey — Episode 2
What am I drawing life from?
Primary Scripture: Colossians 2:6–7
Supporting Scriptures: Luke 8:11–15; Jeremiah 17:7–8; Ephesians 3:16–19; Hebrews 9:14; John 15:4–5; Galatians 5:22–23
The Question Beneath the Surface
A tree's branches attract our attention, while the roots that receive water and anchor it remain unseen.
The Seed introduced the life received in Christ. The Roots asks what happens as His truth becomes established within us.
We may hear that the Father loves us yet interpret correction as rejection, or understand forgiveness yet return to self-condemnation.
The answer is not to earn a stronger welcome from God. Through the Lord Jesus, we are invited to become established in the life He has already given.
Roots illustrate inward formation. Christ remains our source.
Received in Christ, Established in Him
Paul writes, “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him” (Colossians 2:6, KJV).
The next verse describes believers as rooted and built up in Him, established in the faith they have been taught, and abounding with thanksgiving (Colossians 2:7, KJV).
Notice where the roots belong: in Him.
Spiritual depth is not an independent strength we develop so that we eventually need the Lord less. It is a growing dependence upon the One in whom we have received life.
Paul immediately warns against teaching that draws people away from Christ (Colossians 2:8–10). Something can sound impressive and still redirect our confidence toward human achievement, religious status or a promise of completeness elsewhere.
Formation therefore includes learning to recognize what we are trusting.
When we fail, do we return to the Lord Jesus in faith, confession and gratitude? Or do we assume that enough self-punishment will make us welcome again?
His finished work is the foundation. Our continuing walk receives its direction from Him.
More Than a Moment of Hearing
In the parable of the sower, the Lord Jesus describes people who receive the Word with joy but have no root. When testing comes, their initial response does not endure (Luke 8:13).
He also describes those who hear the Word, keep it and bring forth fruit with patience (Luke 8:15, KJV).
We can be moved by a truth without yet allowing it to challenge the assumptions that govern our ordinary responses.
Suppose someone believes that their worth depends on being useful. They hear that they belong to God through Christ. Yet whenever another person is disappointed with them, they feel compelled to prove their value.
Here is a place for truth to become established.
They can return to what Scripture reveals, bring the fear honestly before the Father, and respond to the situation without treating another person's approval as the source of their identity.
That may include listening, apologizing or setting a wise boundary. Grace changes the ground from which we respond.
In From Voice to Fruit, Chapter 2 explores this connection between what the heart receives, the beliefs that become settled, and the responses that follow. The book develops the theme more fully; this teaching offers a focused invitation to consider it.
A Conscience Answering to Christ
Inward formation also involves the conscience.
The conscience bears witness, but it does not create truth or replace the Holy Spirit. A strong inward feeling must still be tested by Scripture and the character of the Lord Jesus.
Some people feel guilty for resting. Others feel little concern about words that wound. The presence or absence of discomfort does not, by itself, settle what is faithful.
Hebrews 9:14 directs us to the blood of Christ, which purges the conscience from dead works to serve the living God (Hebrews 9:14, KJV).
The direction matters: cleansing comes through His offering and opens into service. We do not cleanse ourselves by achieving enough to silence every accusation.
Nor does grace make our conduct unimportant.
As we attend to His Word, we learn to distinguish honest conviction from the assumption that we must earn our place with the Father.
When we have wronged someone, we can acknowledge it, seek forgiveness and make what repair is possible. We can do so in dependence upon Christ rather than making failure our identity.
Roots become practical when the truth we confess begins to shape how we respond.
Rooted Through Changing Seasons
Jeremiah describes the person who trusts in the Lord as a tree planted by the waters, with roots spreading toward the river (Jeremiah 17:7–8, KJV).
Heat and drought are still part of the picture.
The passage contrasts trust in the Lord with a heart that turns away from Him to rely on human strength. Its encouragement concerns our confidence in Him through suffering.
We should not turn the picture into a test by which every anxious moment proves spiritual failure.
A grieving person may weep and still trust God. Someone under pressure may need prayer, friendship and practical help while remaining dependent upon Him.
Rootedness does not require pretending that the ground is never dry.
It means bringing our need to the Lord and continuing to receive His truth within the difficulty.
Our circumstances matter, but they do not become the final authority over who we are in Christ.
Established in Love, Expressed in Relationship
Paul prays that believers will be strengthened by the Spirit in the inner person and rooted and grounded in love (Ephesians 3:16–19, KJV).
This is more than becoming inwardly composed. He prays that they will know the love of Christ together with all the saints.
Formation has a relational expression.
We learn to receive care, tell the truth, forgive, listen and serve. The love that establishes us in Christ begins to shape how we treat the people before us.
This may become visible in a quieter answer during conflict, the courage to admit a mistake or patience with someone who is struggling.
These actions do not purchase belonging. They express a life being formed through relationship with the Lord Jesus.
In John 15, He calls His disciples to abide in Him. Fruit depends upon that living relationship.
The purpose of the roots is not an impressive hidden life. It is the growing expression of the Spirit's fruit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance (Galatians 5:22–23, KJV).
What we receive from Christ is to shape how we live with others.
Reflection — What Is Becoming Established?
- • When pressure comes, what do my responses reveal about where I am looking for security?
- • What truth about the Lord Jesus do I understand, yet still struggle to live from?
- • Where do I need to test an inward accusation or assumption against Scripture?
- • What practical response of love could express the life I have received in Christ today?
Prayer
Father, thank You that our life and belonging are found in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thank You that His finished work is the foundation from which we grow.
Establish our hearts in Your truth. By Your Spirit, strengthen us to receive Your love, recognize false assumptions and respond faithfully to Your Word.
Teach us to trust You through changing seasons and to receive the care You give through others.
May what becomes established within us find expression in patience, honesty, forgiveness and love.
In the name of the Lord Jesus, Amen.
Continue the Formation Journey
Explore the book: From Voice to Fruit
Formation Journey — From the life received in Christ to the fruit expressed through relationship.
Scripture source and acknowledgement
Scripture quotations are from the Authorized (King James) Version (KJV); explanatory summaries are the author's own.
Scripture quotations from The Authorized (King James) Version. Rights in the Authorized Version in the United Kingdom are vested in the Crown. Reproduced by permission of the Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press