Not being blessed with the gift of a green thumb, there are currently no live plants in my home; and those outdoor plants not planted firmly in the ground, those potted on my front and back porch, are barely hanging onto survival. Even with the best of intentions to nourish those potted plants so that they flourish, I fall short in my stewarding duties. When I attempt to raise a plant from seed to flower using my own abilities, I more often flounder and fail rather than flourish in that endeavor. Now if you take a peek at the shrubs, plants, and trees planted firmly into the landscape beds around my home (in good soil), you are likely to discover their fate to be an improvement compared to the ones doomed to the crockery of the porches.

Learning from these personal experiences with plants in my care, and as I consider how we might equip Emerging Generations to flourish at life, I am reminded of the importance that we make an intentional decision to invest in the necessary processes that establish the best foundation for flourishing, and that is to consider Roots Before Fruits. In his book entitled Rooted, Banning Liebscher paints a picture for us by “[studying] the life of David [from Scripture] and [looking] at the different elements God developed in his root system during nearly two decades of process and preparation. The main thing God wanted David to be rooted in was a deep trust in Him. For God to establish this abiding trust in David’s life, He had to prepare him in three different soils.”

So, I propose that if we desire to cultivate the Habits of a Flourishing Life, we must first consider the soils in which we are planting. Through his life journey, and I would describe his life as a flourishing life, even with all the obstacles to overcome and heartache he experienced, we can allow David to serve as a mentor to us, coaching us through our own pilgrimage to living a life of abundance and fulfillment. I also have a Soil Scientist available to provide a modern-day perspective on carefully attending to the soils in which we choose to be planted! Let’s see if we can learn something useful and nourishing to guide our next steps.

Liebscher describes the first soil as the “soil of intimacy. As a shepherd in the field, David built a relationship [Relational Equity] with God in prayer and worship, and dependence on God as he fought private battles with lions and bears. In the field, David developed a secret-place lifestyle.” For all of us, but particularly for Emerging Generations, it is vital that we first find our identity in Christ, and that to find intimacy with him, we must first make a choice to follow Him so that He can become the Gardener of not only our soil, but also our souls.

“The second soil is the soil of serving. As he served his father, brothers, and King Saul, David took a posture of humility that positioned him to receive God’s grace. In serving, David chose to trust God to promote him rather than take matters into his own hands and try to fulfill the word on his life through self-promotion,” shares Liebscher. When we adopt a posture of Humility and choose to serve others, we are cultivating healthy habits that lead us to not only Be Good Neighbors, but also to a flourishing life.

“The third soil is the soil of community. When four hundred men joined David in the cave of Adullam, he learned what it meant to be a leader of men. He learned to trust his friends and brothers as well as God, learned to encourage and inspire, learned to take hits [Habit of Resilience], learned to model a standard of honor, and learned to lead with vision,” offers Liebscher. All of us have influence with those who are around us, and I feel it’s vital that we consider how God is developing us in our current Season of Life to build community with others.

“Each of these soils provided different but equally necessary ingredients to develop and strengthen David’s root system of trust in God. After twenty years of being planted in these soils, David had a root system ready to sustain the weight of God’s bringing to pass the calling on his life…If David needed to be planted in these three soils, so do you.”

When considering Roots Before Fruits in your own life, what soils would you describe might be necessary for you to be planted in before God can use you to produce fruit? Please take the time to share in the comments below.

Reference:

Liebscher, B. (2016). Rooted: The hidden places where God develops you. WaterBrook Press.