備受愛戴的慕安得烈牧師（Andrew Murray，1828-1917年）曾經分享，在他的祖國南非，橘子樹會受到各種病蟲害的侵擾。在外行人的眼中，橘子樹看起來一切正常，但有經驗的樹木專家卻能發現導致樹木逐漸死亡的根源。要拯救生病的樹唯一的方法是將樹幹、樹枝砍下來，嫁接到另一棵樹上。如此一來，這棵樹就能夠茁壯成長並結出果實。

慕安得烈用這個比喻，講述使徒保羅寫給以弗所教會信徒的書信。使徒保羅在羅馬坐監期間寫下這封信，精闢地概述了耶穌基督的福音。他對眾信徒懷著牧者之心，他祈求上帝藉著基督的靈，使眾信徒心裡的力量剛強起來，好讓基督因他們的信心住在他們心裡（以弗所書3章16-17節）。使徒保羅盼望眾信徒的「愛心有根有基」，並能體會上帝的愛是何等長闊高深！（17-18節）

身為基督徒，我們應當深深扎根於上帝愛的沃土中，其中的養分能堅固我們，使我們茁壯成長。當我們被嫁接到耶穌這真葡萄樹上時，祂的靈會幫助我們結果子。我們也許會經歷風暴、面對挑戰，但若我們扎根於耶穌那生命與愛的源頭，就能抵禦這些風暴。

Beloved pastor Andrew Murray (1828-1917) shared how in his native South Africa, various diseases affect the orange trees there. To the unpracticed eye, all may seem fine, but an expert arborist can spot the rot that heralds the tree’s slow death. The only way to save the diseased tree is to remove the stem and branches from the root and graft them onto a new one. Then the tree can thrive, producing fruit.

Murray connected this illustration to the apostle Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians. From prison in Rome, Paul wrote a letter that wonderfully summarizes the gospel of Jesus Christ. His pastoral heart shines through when he prayed that the believers would be strengthened with power through Christ’s Spirit in their inner being so that He would dwell in their hearts by faith (Ephesians 3:16-17). Paul longed that they’d be “rooted and established in love” and would grasp the full measure of God’s abundant love (vv. 17-18).

As believers in Jesus, our roots sink deeply into the rich soil of God’s love, where the nutrients fortify us and help us grow. And as we’re grafted onto Jesus, His Spirit helps us to produce fruit. We may have to weather storms that bend us one way or another, but we can withstand them when we’re rooted in the Source of life and love.