Getting to the Roots

The word radical comes from the same root as the word radish and literally means “root.” It’s truly a root word! But apart from the painful pun, it has something to teach us. So often, when we think of something radical, it conjures up images of something “way out there.” In spiritual matters, radical is more often rootlike, something “deep in here.” The most radical way of living is in complete submission to God. But where does this posture come from? It grows out of the twin virtues of humility and belief. I think of these as the two roots from which we draw sustenance to live the life of surrender.