Knowing Your Identity in Christ: I am Rooted and Established in Love (Ephesians 3:17)

What does it really look like to be “rooted and established in love” in your faith and family life?

On this episode of 7 Minute Devotions for Busy Parents, host Christen Clark dives into Ephesians 3, unpacking spiritual growth, purpose, and identity for Christian parents committed to raising Christian kids. Through real-life stories, Christen challenges listeners to embrace discipleship in the everyday moments. These can be in mundane family routines, or heartfelt conversations while exploring how God’s unwavering love fuels faith and shapes family life.

• [00:01:11] “I am rooted and established in love”
• [00:05:50] Telling your kids what you love about them

Resources:

• Instagram: @7minutedevotions, @christenclark
• Family Podcast: @collidekidspodcast

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Hello and welcome back to 7-Minute Devotions for Busy Parents. I'm Kristen Clark, and I'm so glad you're here. You know, so much of our identity seems to be surrounding our kids or what they do or what we do and what we accomplish. Maybe that's why it's so easy to stay busy, right? We can't really step off the hamster wheel because what we do is who we are. And then that leads us to feel like we're always letting someone down. But my hope for you and for me is that this study is helping us realize that our identity is not about activity or achievement. It has everything to do with what Christ has done for us. It's not about us, it's all about Him. Our identity is in Christ. Hallelujah. And all God's people said amen. Well, today we're going to be stepping into a passage from Ephesians that I absolutely love. We're still in chapter three. This is one of those sections of scripture that reads like a prayer, and in fact, it was. And so over the next couple episodes, we're going to walk through it together. But today we're focusing on one powerful phrase in that prayer. Our identity statement for today is I am rooted and established in love. In Ephesians 3, 17, Paul is praying that Christ would dwell in our hearts through faith and that we would be rooted and established in love. And I love that he uses both of these words, rooted and established, because they give us two different pictures. The word rooted makes me think of a tree. We actually have this large oak tree right in front of our house. And my husband is always pointing out how some of the branches are getting very close to touching the house. And if you know anything about trees, you know that what you see above ground is often reflected below ground. A big tree has a big root system. If the roots are shallow, the tree won't stand. It won't have the stability to stay upright. So the roots are so important. Then Paul uses another word, established, which other translations use the word grounded. So established or grounded, that gives us a picture more of a building, a structure with a foundation. Because if there's a crack in the foundation, it affects everything else. Over time, it will show up in the walls, the floors, the stability of the entire building. The foundation has to be flawless. It has to be perfect. So Paul is essentially saying, I am praying that your life is deeply rooted and firmly grounded in love. And not just your love for God, but your understanding of his love for you and how that flows into your love for others. Because here's the truth we can talk about love all day long, but what does it actually look like to be rooted and established in love? One commentary writer put it this way: some people have the kind of love for God that's like a flash in the pan. It's loud for a moment, but it does it last. And if I'm being really honest here, there have been seasons in my life where that has been true for me. Moments where I feel passionate and connected to God. And then just as quickly I drift back into focusing on myself, my schedule, my needs, my desires. And I'm not really loving others well either. So, how do we actually become rooted and established in love? Well, I think it starts here. We can't do it on our own. Our verse today even tells us it's through Christ dwelling in our hearts. So it really isn't even our love to begin with. It's the love of God that is in us. Now, that doesn't let us off the hook. That means that we have to pray that love would be the guiding force to help us to love God more and to help us show that love for God by how we treat others and how we love others, especially the people who are bad drivers around you right now, or people who disagree with us politically or theologically, or people who live in our house, who get on our nerves. Maybe that's just me. Second, we have to practice it even when we don't feel like it. This means, this means that our love for God needs to be demonstrated by how we are faithful to go to church and read our Bibles and spend time worshiping God and serving Him and connecting with other believers. It also means that we need to put into practice how we show love and affection to others, not just the people who are easy to love, but the other people we talked about before. And that is where love becomes rooted and established. Now, I think as parents, we often think about teaching our kids how to love God and love others. But one of the most powerful ways we do that is by how we love them. Not all of us were raised the same. And so we don't all express love the same way. And that could be interesting in your home, how you demonstrate that love or how you don't. A few months ago, I was at a mother-daughter event for my daughter's small group. And during that time, the moms and daughters were asked to share what they loved about each other. It was kind of easy for me to think of all the ways that I love her. I think about those things. I love my daughter. And so I had some things to share, but it also hit me in that moment that I don't always say those things out loud to her. I think them, I say them to others, but I don't always say them directly to her. That was a big shift for me. Telling our kids why we love them, what we love about them, that can be so life-giving. And it shapes the way our kids see themselves. It was interesting too when the daughters were asked what they loved about their moms. My daughter talked about everyday things like driving her places, making breakfast, taking her to Target, things that I thought were just normal, mundane. But to her, those things felt like love. And I think that's such a good reminder for us. It's not always the big moments that matter the most. It's not the big gift or the big trip or the thing that we think they're going to take as the most affection. It's the small, consistent, everyday ways that we show up. It's the ways that we speak into their life and tell them amazing things about them that we see. So here's a simple question you can ask your kids this week. What do I do that makes you feel loved? You actually might be surprised by their answer. Well, before we pray, let's go over our identity rhythm. Our identity statement for today is I am rooted and established in love. God's love is my foundation, and through Christ, his love lives in me and strengthens me. Because I am rooted and established in love, I choose to receive God's love daily and reflect it in how I treat others, especially when it's difficult. Let's say the identity statement together one more time. I am rooted and established in love. Well, for our prayer time today, I want to use this passage in Ephesians 3 to pray over you. So this is from verses 14 through 21. Let's pray. For this reason, I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches, he may strengthen you with power through his spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Well, friend, I hope that today's episode reminded you that it's not about you, it's about Christ and what he wants to do in and through you. He wants you to be rooted and established in love. And it doesn't happen overnight, it grows over time as we stay connected to Christ and allow his love to shape us. Thank you so much for listening today. I hope that you'll come back later this week. We're gonna talk more about what happens when we truly live from that place. So make sure that you're following this podcast on your favorite podcast app so that you don't miss the next episode. I look forward to seeing you back later this week. Remember who you are and who you belong to.