CHURCH

Suppose that in time of war a man says, "I wish to serve my country and to defend her from her enemies." If he tries to carry out that resolution alone, he can accomplish nothing. He can be effective in that purpose only by standing shoulder to shoulder with others of like mind. It is so with the church. ROOTED TOGETHER The huge redwood trees of California amaze mankind. They are the largest living things on earth and the tallest trees in the world. Some of them are 300 feet high and over 2,500 years old. One would think that trees so large must have a tremendous root system that reaches down hundreds of feet into the earth. But not so! The redwoods have a very shallow root system. The redwoods root system all intertwine. They are locked to each other. When the storms come, the winds blow, and the lightning flashes, the redwoods still stand. They are locked to each other. They are not alone for all the trees support and protect each other. Each tree is important to all the other trees in the grove. In the Church, souls fellowship with one another and with Christ. Without Christ, the church is nothing. Without fellowship, the church is useless. By our love, we must show the world the difference Jesus makes! ". . . being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ. . . " \reference{Ephesians 3:17-19}{Ephesians 3:17-19}