«　WEEK 2　DAY 6　»

　　Col. 2:7 Having been rooted and being built up in Him, and being established in the faith even as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

　　15 Stripping off the rulers and the authorities, He made a display of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

　　In the soil there is also an element which strips off the rulers and authorities and triumphs over them (Col. 2:15). This element is victorious over the evil spirits in the atmosphere. Both believers and unbelievers realize that there is something evil surrounding them. People try to be good, but something causes them to do evil.... If we try in ourselves to combat the power of darkness in the atmosphere, we shall be defeated. But there is an element in Christ as the soil which defeats the evil spirits....There is an element in the soil which strips off the power of darkness. We have been planted into this soil, and now we must enjoy all its riches. (Life-study of Colossians, pp. 466-467)

　　We are rooted in Christ, who is the rich, fertile soil [Col. 2:7]. Having been rooted in Him, we should go on to absorb His riches....The elements absorbed into a tree from the soil enable the tree to grow.... Since we have been rooted into Christ, we should remain in Him in a practical way day by day. In our experience, we need to stay rooted in Christ. However, if we forget Christ in matters such as eating and drinking, we are not rooted in Him in our experience. When we eat our food, we may not remember Christ. After our meal, we may spend some time in prayer. But even at the beginning of our prayer, we may not actually and experientially be rooted in Christ, for we may pray many unnecessary things. But in His mercy and patience, the Lord waits until we begin to pray in a genuine way. Then in our experience we absorb Christ’s riches. However, when our time of prayer is finished, it may happen that we do not go on to assimilate what we have absorbed of Him. According to the Lord’s words in John 15, it could be that we do not abide in Him.

　　In the morning many saints spend time with the Lord. However, even though they spend a certain amount of time with Him, they may not absorb much of His riches. The reason is that they are in too much of a hurry. If we would absorb the riches of Christ into us as our nourishment, we should not be rushed.

　　If we would absorb the riches of Christ as the soil, we need to have tender, new roots. Do not let yourself get old, but be fresh and renewed day by day. Pray to the Lord, “Lord, I want my consecration to be fresh, and I want to open to You anew. I want my roots to be tender that I may absorb Your riches. Lord, don’t let my roots get old.” If our roots are tender and new to absorb the riches of Christ, we shall grow automatically with the riches we assimilate. This is to enjoy Christ and to experience Him subjectively daily and hourly.

　　If you see that we have been rooted in Christ as the rich soil, you will be comforted and encouraged....In this soil do you not have the fullness, the circumcision, the burial, the raising up, the giving of life, the wiping out of the ordinances, and the stripping off of the powers of darkness? Forget your situation, your condition, your failures, and your weaknesses and simply take time to enjoy the Lord. Take time to absorb Him, to assimilate the rich elements from Him as the soil. If you take time to absorb the Lord, you will be able to testify that in Christ you have no lack.

　　If you spend thirty minutes to absorb the Lord and to enjoy Him in the morning, you will not be bothered by negative things during the day. The “flies” and “scorpions” will not pester you, for the elements in the soil will repel them. (Life-study of Colossians, pp. 486-487, 468)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Colossians, msgs. 47-48, 55