During our visit to Hawaii, we hiked through a botanical garden in Mililani (“hiking” as an abstract concept, is wildly exciting for boys under ten, but in reality the thrill lasts for less than 15 minutes). Along the path I noticed this old, dead stump with a fresh plant starting to grow from its top. Immediately, I thought of how the New Covenant of our Lord Jesus is described in Isaiah 11:1-9 (below):
It is a vivid reminder of how there is always hope in Christ, for in his new creation God causes life to grow out of death.
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him– the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD– and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.
