18 do not boast that you are better than those branches. But if you do boast—you do not sustain the root, but the root sustains you. (Romans 11:18 CSB)

A branch cut from a tree will not live long. The tree separated from its root will not live long. Only when these things are connected to the root can they survive.

We are the same.

Without the Root, which is Christ, we will know nothing but death. Eternal life is not in us.

Thus, the closer to the root we become, the more like it we become. In doing so the root is always evident in our lives.

When we stray we begin to dry up, much like any plant separated from its source of life.

So why do we stray from what keeps us rooted? Sin that lives in us always works to drag us away. But Christ has overcome death and sin and given us eternal life.

Thus, stay rooted.