It’s Friday…It’s Good to be Stumpy

I like stumps. Stumps serve their purpose in the landscape of life. But not many people aspire to be a stump, but according to Isaiah the prophet, it’s a holy calling.

“…as the terebinth and oak leave stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land.”  (Isaiah 6:13)

Those of us who have heard the voice of God and have responded to it are firmly planted, regardless of the judgments of the age. When God is pouring out His blessing, we are the first to flourish. When He is pouring out His discipline, we are the only stumps with green shoots growing out of them. Regardless of what the landscape looks like at any given moment, sensitivity to God’s voice preserves and causes us to thrive. Yes, we who are rooted in the words of God have deep roots.

But we live in a land of shallow roots, don’t we? That has been true of any age, but especially of ours. Absolutes of society have been uprooted, alternative lifestyles are now conventional, and transition in all forms is the norm. Never have people been so mobile and unattached. A world searching for some constancy can hardly find it.

But the followers of Christ are an exception to that. We may be mobile – upwardly, geographically, or any other way – but we, who have heard the voice of God, do not follow shifting trends. We are members of a remnant – a growing remnant, a flourishing remnant, a remnant that is changing the course of history. In this case, It’s Good To Be Stumpy, because in this case, we are stumps of the highest order. We are the greenery on a morally desolate landscape.

Our message may not be as stark as Isaiah’s – in fact, as messengers of the gospel of God’s grace, we most often do not – but we may feel as alone and rejected as he sometimes did, right? If that rings true for you today, remember, you have received the high calling and have heard the voice of God. You are in an honorable position as a stump, a representative of His righteousness, a disciple of the true Branch that offers salvation to the world (Isaiah 11:1). In a world needing greenery, we as followers of God are flourishing for His sake because of His favor upon us. Yes, we are beautiful and blessed!

Have a delightful weekend. Make it better by worshiping The LORD with those who recognize how important and unique they are in a landscape that sees them as irrelevant. Yet, they know with full assurance that nothing could be further from the truth because to God they are fully alive.

All For Jesus – Nothing More, Nothing Less, Nothing Else.

“He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, The King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see, to Him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.” (1 Timothy 6:15b-16)