Last week, my family was able to enjoy an unexpected week of vacation.  Some friends of ours went out of town on vacation and offered us their home while they were gone.  Since they live on a lake and have an incredible pool, it didn’t take much convincing for us to accept the offer. 

After a week away, we returned home and were a bit surprised by the condition of our yard.  To be more precise, it wasn’t necessarily the yard itself, but the plants and flowers that were in pots were really struggling. 

Before we left town, we gave everything a good watering and even moved several of the potted plants into positions where they were sure to be hit by the sprinklers when they ran during the week.  However, even with the sprinklers, after a week away with no rain and no one watering the plants, almost every potted plant in the yard looked as if it was another day or two from becoming potpourri.

The planted plants were a different story. 

Sure, some of them looked a bit tired, several of them were even a little wilted, but in comparison, the differences were striking.  Drooping looks very different than dying.  Wilting is still much preferable to withering away. 

As I reflected on the differences of the flowers in our yard, I began to wonder the following question:

Am I planted or am I potted? 

Am I someone who is planted – whose roots go deep, whose soil is rich, and because of this, can endure the complexity and droughts of life?  Or am I someone who is potted?  Sure, I have roots and yes, I’m in soil, but the pot creates limits in which the roots can only reach so far.  And because the soil in the pot is so contained, it quickly loses moisture and dries out. 

The flowers that we planted in the ground had the roots and the soil necessary to endure our absence. 

However, the flowers that were potted struggled immensely – they lacked the roots and the room to endure. 

As I’ve considered the differences of being potted vs. being planted, two thoughts have occurred to me:

First, I’ve found myself thinking a lot about the words of Psalm 1. 

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law, day and night.  That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither – whatever they do prospers.  ~ Psalm 1:1-3 (NIV)

The planted ones are those who, amongst other things, meditate on God’s word, His law, day and night.  Don’t let our modern conception of the word ‘meditate’ fool you.  The Hebrew thinking behind the word ‘meditate’ is the imagery of a lion prowling after its prey.  The Old Testament doesn’t treat the reading of God’s word as merely passive reflection, but as a deep, desperate, dangerous hunger for the words of scripture.

Planted people don’t wait for Sunday for their spiritual meal because planted people can’t wait for Sunday - they’re too hungry for that. 

The second thought that has been stirred in me is regarding the fickle nature of the potted plants.  A week without additional watering and most of the potted plants were as good as gone.  However, after watering them just once, the very next morning almost all the plants were back to their former glory.  Their colors were bright, and their stems looked strong. 

As tempting as it is to praise this, consider for a moment what it takes to sustain this appearance of life as opposed to the plants that are planted in the earth.  Yes, the potted plants respond quickly to water, but they also respond quickly to drought.  Yes, they bounce back quickly, but they are quick to wither away as well.  Yes, they are quick to respond positively when their circumstances are favorable, but they are just as quick to fall apart when their circumstances are harsh and unsupportive.  As much as we may want to praise the responsiveness of the potted plants, this responsiveness works in both ways: they are fickle, ever changing, rising and falling based on the circumstances around them. 

If our faith

If our life with God

If our walk with Jesus

If our life in a local church community

If we are just as responsive to the negative as we are to the positive, chances are we are potted, not planted.  Psalm 1 says that the planted ones are planted by the river.  They are not dependent upon the fickle nature of the weather but are rooted near the source of life – a source that does not come and go with the seasons. 

If the conditions around you have a tendency to determine the quality of life within you, there is a good chance your faith is more potted than planted.  The good news is it doesn’t have to be this way.

Jesus said in John 7:37-39, “‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.’ By this he meant the Spirit…”.

The promise of God in Christ is that those who put their faith (think allegiance, trust, belief, loyalty) in Jesus, rivers of living water will burst up within them.  But did you catch what the writer of the gospel of John does right there at the end?  He spells out what that means just in case we miss what he’s saying.

It’s like he anticipates our questions.  “Wait, what’s that river you ask?  Great question.  The river Jesus promises is the Holy Spirit in you.  God’s Spirit is the never-ending source of life Jesus says flows through people of faith.”

Potted people rise and fall with the conditions and circumstances around them, the highs and lows affect them so deeply, because ultimately, they’re still trying to do life on their terms, in their power, for their own purposes.  That little pot we’re in protects us from outside harm and when life gets hard and doesn’t meet our expectations, the pot allows us to move from place to place, person to person, church to church.  It leaves us in a constant state of needing more, more, more just to look and feel normal.

But planted people are different.  Planted people face the challenges of life with enduring commitment to Jesus in the place they’re planted, alongside those with whom they are planted because there is a Source of power in them that is not of their own doing – it is the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. 

I invite you to ask yourself the same question I’ve been asking this week: Am I potted or planted?

So, may you put your faith in Jesus Christ, may He fill you with the Holy Spirit – with rivers of life – and may you find yourself just as Psalm 1 described: like a tree planted by a river, unshaken by the fickle conditions of this world, bearing fruit in each and every season.