Pulled Up By The Roots

He replied: "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots.  Leave them; they are blind guides.  If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit."
Matthew 15:13 & 14

Let's talk about plants and their root systems.  Some plants like "crab grass" have very shallow roots but those roots can go a foot or more along the surface of the ground.  "Dandelions" on the other hand have very deep roots - there have been many times when I tried to pull up a Dandelion and only ripped off the plant from the root.  The root remained and a new plant grew.

In this verse Jesus is talking about the Pharisees and teachers of the day.  I am reminded of a wonderful painting: "Blind Leading the Blind" by Pieter Bruegel.  In this work of art - today's exact part of scripture is depicted - the "Blind Leader" has fallen into a pit and the "blind followers" are stumbling in after him.

This is what I have learned from today's scripture - I am striving to be deeply rooted in Jesus so that I will not be fooled by blind leaders.  It will be impossible to be "pulled up by the roots" if we are deeply rooted in scripture and in prayer.