Tap Root...

During our study time in and Jesus saying that He is the true Vine, led me to an interesting study on grape vines.

That they live from 80-100 years but they reach peak productivity at about 30-50 years of age.

A sun-weathered foreman was working among the vines. Since wine-producing grapevines have always fascinated me, I decided to ask him a few questions.

They get the best wine after those vines are well advanced in years.

These vines develop what’s called a tap root, which is the dominate root that all the other roots spread laterally.

Typically they are straight and they are the thickest root.

“Oh, some can live eighty to one hundred years, but they reach peak productivity at about thirty to fifty years.” “In fact,” he continued, “the flavor doesn’t fully concentrate in the grapes until they advance in years. That’s when we get our best wine”

Some even reach down to what’s called the subsurface water table and become what’s called “self-irrigating”.

It’s those words have become a vibrant picture of God’s intention for every believer and a great personal encouragement.

His phrase, “self-irrigating,” has lingered and taken on heightened meaning with the passing of time. For me, these words have become a vibrant picture of God’s intention for every believer and a great personal encouragement. God seeks fruit. It grows to the extent that we, like these vines, sink our roots deep into an authentic relationship with Jesus Christ.

God seeks fruit. It grows to the extent that we, like these vines,

sink our roots deep into an authentic relationship with Jesus Christ.

Trusting God or Man?

To the extent that I have rooted myself in life’s ever-changing, unpredictable circumstances, I have born meager fruit.

Long ago the Prophet Jeremiah warned us, Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the Lord. 6 For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, And shall not see when good comes, But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, In a salt land which is not inhabited.

But Jeremiah didn’t end here. He also left us a great promise. — 7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord. 8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.

Jeremiah’s words describe the Christian who has become like some of those lively vines—self-irrigating.

The Christian who trusts God this way sinks his spiritual taproot deep into Christ and eternal realities—things unshakable.

To the degree that he does this the twists and turns of life do not disturb his inner peace and joy,

and the average American deeply desires these two qualities.

What many people would spend millions to attain,

God has made available to every believer, through the gift of the Holy Spirit.

I want to fully participate in this life. I’m sure you do also.

It is encouraging to note that many saints have enjoyed it.

For example, John Wesley (1703–91) rode 250,000 miles on horseback, wrote numerous books, often preached ten times per week, and answered a huge pile of correspondence.

He was one of the busiest, most pressured, and most productive Christians that ever lived.

He was fruitful because he had learned the secret of the self-irrigated life.

He once said: “But though I am always in haste, I am never in a hurry, because I never undertake any more work than I can go through with perfect calmness of spirit.”

The Tap Root of Faith

The deeper our spiritual tap-root descends, the less we also rely upon life’s circumstances, and the more we depend upon intimacy with God for joy, productivity, and fulfillment.

Let’s extend the analogy of the vine to three spiritual principles.

First, both Christians and vines require nourishment.

Just as the vine needs natural water, we need spiritual water. “Whoever drinks the water I give him,” said Jesus, “will never thirst. Indeed the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (). This water is relational union with Christ.

Second, both the vine and the Christian have a taproot through which that nourishment rises. The Christian’s taproot is faith.

Third, where our taproot of faith goes for nourishment, determines our fruitfulness.

Some believer’s roots rise to the visible world for sustenance. They have shallow roots.

They live by what they can detect with their five senses. “Trusting in man,” including his institutions, is how Jeremiah describes this person.

His fruitfulness and vitality, what little there is, rises and falls with his circumstances, just as the vine, whose roots rise to the surface, withers or prospers according to the rains or droughts on the surface.

His well-being depends on the stock market, the success of his favorite political party, the profits of his employer, his children’s health, his boss’s favor, or his wife’s mood.

But, the fruitful Christian sends his taproot deep into the unseen world searching for “the river whose streams make glad the city of God” ().

This river flows deep and strong despite life’s circumstances.

It is like a unseen water spring that flows forty feet beneath my home.

It is impossible to detect from the surface.

We have no idea it’s there until they sunk the well into it.

It flows consistently in drought, winter, heavy rains, or summer heat.

It had flowed for many years before we tapped into it, and

it will continue to flow many years after we are gone.

Like the river of God, it does not rise and fall with surface conditions.

The Nature of God’s River

Paul sunk his roots into this invisible stream. Despite immense suffering he wrote: Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

How did this river “renew” Paul “day by day?” The nourishing fluid that flowed from this river through Paul’s tap-root of faith was a threefold conviction about God.

The first conviction is that God is sovereign over every circumstance in life. “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny,” said Jesus, “Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered” (, ). God controls every detail of life. Nothing is random or out of order. When I accidentally erase the hard drive on my computer I may not like it, but I know that God is still in control.

Second, the river of God is the conviction that this same sovereign God is also infinitely good. Ultimately, He has only delightful things in mind for His children. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (). This means that God not only allows the erasure of my hard drive but that He also plans to use the frustration and inconvenience of rebuilding it to prepare me for ultimate happiness.

Third, it is the growing certainty that these two truths are personal:

God loves me, yes even me, and no matter how bad my circumstances,

God will love me and amplify my eternal joy through them.

A.W. Tozer said: “True faith rests upon the character of God and asks no further proof than the moral perfections of the One who cannot lie.”

Each Christian who draws nourishment from this river becomes increasingly confident in these three truths.

So how does the root of faith get turned from the surface to the subterranean deeps?

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Extending the Tap-Root

Drought stretches the natural vine’s root.

As long as there is abundant water on the surface the root feeds there;

but drought sends the taproot deep in search of moisture.

The more frequent and severe the droughts, the deeper the taproot grows.

In the same way, the day of trouble sends our taproot in search of spiritual nourishment.

It either seeks moisture in the physical, visible world, or it descends towards the unchanging ever-flowing river of life.

For this reason James wrote: My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.

What did James mean by the “testing of our faith?”

He meant that trials test our confidence in God’s sovereignty and goodness.

They seldom test our faith in His existence.

When life’s circumstances are going well we all believe that God is good.

But, when life turns sour we begin questioning: “Is God really good?

Would a good God allow this kind of pain and suffering?”

We are fruitful during trial and testing according to our confidence in God’s goodness.

Tragically, many Christians never gain this trust.

Fruitful or Barren?

Why do trials make some people self-irrigating, but have little affect upon others?

Because some relate to God’s allotted trials redemptively, while others relate to them begrudgingly.

Complaining, grumbling, and unforgiveness shunt our tap-root, binding it to the physical and visible.

But thanksgiving, worship, and humility during trial and suffering, send our taproot progressively deeper and deeper.

One of my daughters went through a period of rebellion in her teens. It was a low point in our lives.

For one year my wife and I spent many sleepless nights begging God for mercy.

Although our faith was weak, we tried to sink our roots into God rather than our unpleasant circumstances.

We did our best to worship God with thanksgiving, not knowing whether the ending would be happy or sad.

We resisted the temptation to resent God or our daughter.

Ultimately, she surrendered to Christ while lying sick in a filthy Calcutta hotel reading a Keith Green tract.

The confidence in God’s sovereignty and goodness that weathers any storm grows when God tests our faith this way.

We learn that God is faithful. Our taproot is extended.

But, those who grumble and complain during trial waste the God-given opportunity to become self-irrigating.

Everyone admires the faith of George Mueller (1805–98).

But, most don’t know that his faith grew because he obeyed during times of testing, and then watched God’s faithfulness. “The only way to learn strong faith is to endure great trials,” Mueller wrote. “I have learned my faith by standing firm amid severe testings.”

After three children and thirty years of marriage, a friend’s husband left her for a younger, more attractive woman.

She was bitter towards her husband and deeply resented God.

I begged her to forgive God, forgive her husband, and give thanks for how God was going to use her distressing circumstances for good.

She refused. She glared at me, arms crossed, and defiantly clung to her resentment.

Her taproot went to the surface for sustenance.

For many years she has been Jeremiah’s unfruitful “bush in the wasteland”—unable to see “God’s prosperity when it comes.”

C. H. Spurgeon’s (1834–92) wife was an invalid.

On top of this, he was frequently depressed and suffered recurrent illness.

And, like Wesley, he lived with Herculean pressures to get things done.

Nevertheless, he was able to confidently say, “Trials are the winds which root the tree of our faith.”

John Bunyan (1628–88) spent twelve years in prison for preaching the gospel.

His children grew up without their father.

But, later he wrote: “It is said that in some countries trees will grow but will bear no fruit because there is no winter there.” He knew that faith deepens best in the winter seasons of God’s redemptive purposes.

So What?

Why is all this important? First, like the Napa Valley foreman, God seeks fruit from His people.

And, fruit is not a luxury: It is a necessary byproduct of saving faith. — And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

And Jesus added, — Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

The imperative to be fruitful is serious business.

Second, this parable teaches us the importance of patience.

Most taproots descend slowly.

I have been a Christian for thirty years, and I am just beginning to enjoy a deeper taste of this faith.

Remember, the intensity of the grape’s flavor doesn’t peak until the vine is 30 to 50 years old.

Be patient with God and yourself.

Third, to this point we have discussed what God does to deepen our roots, but there are three things that we can do also.

• Obey God in small things. The man who obeys builds his life on rock. Neither wind, rain, nor storm can shake him. ().

Years ago I began tithing when I could not afford it, and each time God provided my needs my faith grew.

For example, one evening at a prayer meeting I felt the Lord telling me to give a needy woman $15.

I struggled because it was all my spending money until next payday. Finally I obeyed.

The next day I received $14.85 in an unmarked envelope, postmarked 12 hours before my gift.

These experiences of God’s faithfulness deepen the taproot of faith.

But, they can’t occur until we obey in the face of uncertainty.

• In addition, immersion in God’s word enhances the length of our taproot. describes the man immersed in his word as: “a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.” ().

Remember, faith comes from “hearing the message and the message is heard through the word of Christ ().

• Last, ask God to make you self-irrigating. Expect it. Look for it. Martin Luther said, “Ask God to work faith in you, or you will remain forever without faith, no matter what you wish, say, or do.”

Be like Jacob. Wrestle with God, and don’t let go until He gives you this quality of life for your own.

Unless there is a yearning within us for that which is eternal, we shall turn to that which is temporal for sustenance when the day of trouble comes.

If you have been born of God a yearning for the immutable, unseen river of life will grow in you. Yield to it. Don’t quench it.

God will extend your taproot deeper with testing.

When these trials come—“consider it all joy.”

God is good.

God is sovereign.

God loves even you, and

He means it all for good.

This is the confidence that can make every believer self-irrigating and unshakable in good times and in bad.