Isa 11:1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
Jesus though He is the Lord of the entire universe chose to be born by the Father’s will as a little vulnerable baby as part of the family tree of Jesse, the father of King David. At the time, he was born circa 4 AD in that line, the family tree of Jesse had been reduced to be a mere near lifeless stump. There was no more any king in the line of descent –only Joseph, a carpenter by profession remained. But, onto this stump, Jesus was grafted in most uncongenial circumstances. But, over the next two millennia that tender twig became a tree of eternal life for all of humanity. The insignificant and the unimportant had become the source of significance and blessing for those who choose to believe.
Ironically, the Christmas tree though it is symbolic of joy and gaiety and festivities, is a rootless and hence, a fruitless tree. The implication is that if we are rooted in Christ, we become fruitful. Being rooted in Christ means that we must be rooted in the Word of God. We must also be rooted in continual prayer and worship. Then, we will bear a variety of internal fruits of character and external fruits of good deeds and accomplishments. When we are so rooted in Christ, we will experience all-round success and victory.
Jesse had bad genes lurking in his family background. His grandmother was Rahab, the prostitute. But, God turned bad genes around to make a non-Jew Rahab an ancestor of the God-child Jesus Himself. Faith in the God of the Jews enabled Rahab to prove the promise of “ rehab” or transformation by faith. The principle of fate or “ as you sow, so you reap” is transcended by faithful rooting or grafting onto God, His Word and His presence. We are empowered to bear a different kind of fruit for every month of the year and our “ leaves” or our words and thoughts will be used for the healing of nations.
Prateep V Philip
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