Intent and Intensity

From Isaiah 11 – 1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow from his root. 2 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.

“How pitiful," adjudicates Ignazio Silone, "is an intelligence used only to make excuses to quieten the conscience.” Steven King takes a shorter route to the same point in his novel 11/22/63. "Thoughts are not choices."

Confronting our stumps of positive aspiration is that Christ in full fruition envisioned by Isaiah 11. The previous chapter has rendered God's judgment on the forest of our hypocrisy. Now only the root remains, in the root that is Christ is enough for a new beginning that encompasses more than intention.

Although looking far into the future, Isaiah helps us to see 360° of the righteousness of Christ. As we would hope to be in our clearer moments, He has the wisdom, the understanding, the counsel to understand what is right. But He also has the practical knowledge to translate intentions into action, and, importantly, the MIGHT that would overcome any obstacle.

We don't choose, then, between idealizing a Savior Who offers either the brains to weigh a variety of options or the narrow focus and gritted teeth to carry one, and only one, of them out. Starting over with new mercies this day just as surely as Isaiah was envisioning a forest of new growth in Him, the circumstances within which we find ourselves are Christ's choices.

As our roots are now intertwined with His, Christians, they will push through the hard spots in the soil He has selected to cohabitate with us. Those roots, His roots, will find the right nutrients and will flourish in ways this world can see and taste.

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