At a restaurant in Riomaggiore, Nick and I wanted to celebrate. I had just crossed hiking the Cinque Terre Trail in Northern Italy off my bucket list, and we hiked it all in one day. We had left early from Monterosso, making our way south atop the coastal path, winding through villages of colorful buildings and cobblestone streets, along seaside cliffs, up hewn steps, down a steep hillside, across ancient stone footpaths and new walkways over rocks and waves. For centuries, villagers have farmed the terraced hillsides with gardens, vineyards, and—my favorite—olive trees.¹ Under their canopy, I touched the leaves, rubbed the bark, and imagined my favorite smell—olive trees ready for harvesting. I marveled most at how they clung with roots to the terraces while reaching for the sky.
Every olive tree has both a thick taproot and shallower roots that span out in every direction. The strong taproot anchors the tree, while the shallow roots run wide and stabilize it. Such root systems draw water and nutrients, allowing olive trees to flourish in dry places. They are naturally drought resistant,² and can even regenerate after frost, fire, or disease. For example, a severe frost in Tuscany once destroyed many healthy olive trees, but in the spring, new shoots appeared and grew into fruitful trees.³ Such trees can live 500 years because of their hardy root system.⁴
If the Bible says we’re to be like olive trees, then what are our spiritual “roots” supposed to be like? One idea can be found in Deuteronomy 29:18: “Be sure there is no root among you bearing poisonous and bitter fruit.”
Root can be a noun or a verb.⁵ We plant something by rooting it. When that plant anchors itself in the ground, we say it has rooted.⁶ To be rooted is to be “firmly implanted.”⁷ Spiritually, to grow and mature in Christ, we need to be rooted in Christ.
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in him, being rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing with gratitude. - Colossians 2:6-7
An olive tree with strong roots grows green and bears olives. Similarly, when we are rooted, we bear fruit spiritually.
My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be my disciples. - John 15:8
Growth, maturity, and fruit require strong roots in Jesus. Without them, I would starve of the nutrients I need to grow in Christ, unable to stand firm during the storms of life.
With all of this in mind, even as we grow deep spiritual roots, at times we must uproot what is not producing good fruit in our lives (Eccles. 3:1–2). Jeremiah confirms there are times "to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant" ( Jer. 1:10).
In my life, I experienced major trauma as a result of being abandoned at birth, adopted, sexually abused, and marginalized because of my ethnicity. I had to uproot deeply painful things that controlled my life for years—things like shame, rejection, fear, bitterness, offense, and insecurity. I also had to deal with the fruit of those roots with the Word, working with a Christian counselor, and learning new patterns of behavior. None of it happened overnight, but rather over the course of years.
Being rooted in Christ and strengthening our roots, we become resilient like the olive tree. We can grow and thrive, even in the hard places. We can flourish in every season of life.
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Excerpted from Flourishing: Lessons from the Olive Tree by Christine Caine. Preview a free sample here.
1. Rick Steves’ Europe, “Italy's Riviera: Cinque Terre,” YouTube video, 25:04, May 18, 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WP316ABiTt0; Amy Inman, “Help Save Cinque Terre's Stone Walls,” Italy Magazine, February 17, 2020, https://www.italymagazine.com/featured-story/help-save-cinque-terres-stone-walls.
2. https://www.homestratosphere.com/what-are-the-characteristics-of-an-olive-tree/
3. “Description: Olive Tree,” Evertreen, https://evertreen.com/Tree/olive-tree-italy#:~:text=In%20Tuscany%20in%201985%2C%20a,for%20new%20fruit%2Dproducing%20trees.
4. Ibid.
5. Merriam-Webster Dictionary, s.v. “root (n.),” https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/root.
6. Dictionary.com, s.v. “rooting (n.),” https://www.dictionary.com/browse/rooting#:~:text=the%20process%20of%20propagating%20plants,can%20be%20done%20in%20water.
7. Dictionary.com, s.v. “rooted (adj.),” https://www.dictionary.com/browse/rooted.