By the Root 

  [313 words] Growing season for most things in gardens and flower beds is winding down. That means less weed pulling! This preacher remembers a weed in Georgia that we nicknamed “Monster Weed” because it grew very quickly, developed thorns and had a root system that made it nearly impossible to pull up by the stalk. Of how much sorer back would one be who attempted to pull up a mature tree by its roots?  Luke records the following lesson on faith that Jesus taught his disciples: “And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you” (Luke 17:6). Most scholars believe that what the Greeks called a “sycamine tree” is actually the black mulberry, very common in that part…