The Cutter and the Sower

The Feller and the Planter?
The Lumberjack and the Seedling Guy?

God reveals himself as all of these (sort of) in a passage you have heard plenty about. Except, I don't think you've heard the context. 

"There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit." (Isaiah 11:1)

But let's back up to Isaiah 10. God warns that he is sending judgment against the now Godless Israelites by sending the Assyrians to conquer them. But he wants to make sure Assyria understands what's coming for them, too. That proud country, which destroys God's people with a boastful heart, will not glory for long. 

"Behold, the Lord God of hosts
will lop the boughs with terrifying power;
the great in height will be hewn down,
and the lofty will be brought low.

He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an axe,
and Lebanon will fall by the Majestic One."

This is the picture we are left with at the end of Isaiah 10. Jerusalem destroyed. Assyria destroyed. Great forests of splendor struck down, devoid of all their wicked vainglory. Nothing but stumps leftover of great nations that trusted in themselves. And then. 

"There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord."
(Isaiah 11:1-2)

What follows is a beautiful picture of the new kingdom to come, one in which the righteous King rules and "the earth is filled with the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea." 

It's easy to get ahead of ourselves and skip to the good part, but if we do that we'll miss how God reveals who he is. 

This may make you uncomfortable to dwell on, but God is the judgment-bringer. The punishment doler-outer. He just finished tearing down the glory of nations with "terrifying power." 

And yet, out of the decimated tree, he beckons forth a tender shoot, out of the stump of Jesse. The Son he sends is the one who will not break even a broken reed. And they are one in the same God, acting in perfect unity. 

He is the cutter, and the sower.
He is the just. and the justifier.
He is my Savior, and my God. 

Ya girl is the proud owner of her own website domain!

I am happy to announce to you that www.sharonjeongide.com is up and running! Do me a favor and click on the link? It will help establish my website as something work clicking on to search engines.

I am slowly but surely preparing to enter the query trenches over here. That's writer talk for sending out emails to literary agents to see if anyone is interested in representing my work. It's a preliminary step before approaching publishers who might want to purchase my book. 

Anyway, that means doing all the things to make myself a professional author candidate. Mailing list, check. Fancy Schmancy new author website, check! 

Thanks for being here friends, I couldn't do it without you.

 

On mommy content

There was a time when I thought Christian mommy content was less than. I’m sorry, I was a single woman taking seminary classes and my lack of wisdom and love for study made me narrow-minded. I’ve since changed my tune, sort of. 

Life as a mother exposes you to so much lived experience of God’s character. His sovereignty and strength in the face of anxiety and weakness. His kindness and mercy contrasted against your anger and impatience. The list goes on and on. The furnace of motherhood has sanctified me like no other, and the same fountain of blessings has opened my eyes to the vastness of God’s steadfast loving kindness. 

Praise God for content creators that point us to Christ and his truth through the lens of motherhood. 

And yet, what many of these creators do not do is dive into the wellspring of truth in the Scriptures. How often do you see these accounts referencing Old Testament prophets, narrative, or even passages longer than a couple verses? Not often, and usually by design. 

These content creators are targeting gospel truths for specific pain points. Praise God for that, it is so helpful. 

But it is not enough. God’s Word is so rich in its balance and complexity. For every encouragement that our sins are washed away and forgotten, there is a command to be perfect. Jesus is glorified as the good shepherd, but also as the victorious King with a robe dyed in rivers of the blood of his enemies.

If we seek out the Bible only to address specific issues, we will get an unbalanced view of the truth. 

So here’s a challenge to the mothers and women who are bogged down by busy schedules. Use the mommy content, be blessed by it, but do not let it be the main course of what you consume. 

I know you know, all Scripture is God-breathed and useful, no, crucial, and delightful and good for us! 

He is worthy of our efforts to mine the jewels of God’s Word. He commands us to fix our minds on heavenly things. His Word is a wellspring that shouts in each passage: glory, glory, glory! 

The Bible is not just for making it through another difficult day as a mom (though it is absolutely helpful to that end). Like all things, it is from him and through him and for him. Soli deo gloria.