Paul prays in Ephesians 3:17 that believers would be “rooted and grounded in love.” He reaches for two pictures to describe the same spiritual reality. One comes from the field and the other from construction. A plant has roots; a building has a foundation. The roots feed and anchor the plant. The foundation supports and stabilizes the building. Paul says that love is to function like both in the life of the believer.

What we are rooted in will eventually show up in what grows from our lives. A tree draws its nourishment through its roots, and in the same way, the believer who is continually drawing from the love of Christ will increasingly become a loving person. Love will not merely be something we talk about; it will become something others experience when they encounter us.

And if our lives are truly grounded in love, that love will have consistently recognizable characteristics. Paul tells us what love looks like in 1 Corinthians 13. Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy. It does not parade itself. It is not puffed up. It does not behave rudely, seek its own way, or keep a record of wrongs. It bears, believes, hopes, and endures.

That means being “rooted and grounded in love” is more than having warm feelings toward people. It means the love of Christ becomes the source from which our character grows and the foundation upon which our relationships are built.

If impatience, pride, bitterness, selfishness, or resentment continually rises from us, the question is not merely, “How do I behave better?” The deeper questions are: “What is my life source?” and “What is the foundation of my life.” Paul’s prayer points us beneath behavior to the root and the foundation.

The more deeply we are rooted in and supported by the love of Christ, the more clearly and consistently the character of Christ should appear in the living levels of our lives. We do not simply know that we are loved. We become people supported by love and through whom His love is revealed.