CHRIST THE KING LUTHERAN CHURCH - GLADWIN, MI.
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The Gospel in Scales

Stumps, Seeds, and the Persistence of Life

4/25/2019

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There’s a great verse in Isaiah 6 about a stump. The Lord has just gone on a tirade about the destruction which will be visited upon the unrepentant denizens of Jerusalem. The land will be destroyed and its inhabitants sent far away. The remains will resemble the stump of a great tree that has been chopped down. But, the final verse of the prophecy offers unexpected hope “the holy seed is its stump (Isaiah 6:13).”

​With the weather finally softening bit, I have been resuming my paddle boarding excursions, primarily on Wiggins Lake in Gladwin. If Wiggins Lake could talk, I imagine it could say a thing or two about stumps. Quite a number of them dot the shallower portions of the lake.

Right now, we’re still waiting for things to get beautiful here in Gladwin and Beaverton. The trees are just about to blossom, the grass has only started going green, and the flowers remain few, though more appear daily. But, let me tell you, those stumps are glorious right now. Poking out of the water, they are teeming with life: moss, reeds, saplings: you name it and it probably can grow on one of these stumps.

I have always had reservations about the idea that destruction has to happen for new life to spring forth. I suppose it comes down to the truth that some losses never seem to balance with whatever goodness comes about in their wake.

Even so, the stumps of Wiggins Lake are a stunning demonstration of the tenacity and persistence of life in the face of destruction. To quote the renowned, though fictional, Professor Ian Malcom in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, “Life finds a way.”

Furthermore, God is glorified in this stubborn persistency of life: the way tiny trees grow from partially submerged stumps in a still icy lake, the way the Christians of Paris sang hymns even as the Notre Dame Cathedral burned, and the way a man executed on a Friday walks out from his tomb the following Sunday. All life belongs to God and God’s life is persistent. God’s life will find a way.

More than bad things happening by design, I hold to this idea: that God’s life will always find a way. We are not afflicted by sickness, bereavement, and hardship because there is some lesson we can only learn by suffering. Rather, evil is a reality in our world, something we all must contend with at one point or another. And yet, none of these things can stamp out the persistent life of God. That life always remains, always grows, and always finds a way.
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Don’t believe me? Try reading about this thing call Easter. Or, take a paddle out to the stumps of Wiggins Lake. The story is the same.

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    About the Blog

    Journey through the season of Advent with daily updates on the adventures of St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Belliacre, MI as they attempt to cobble together a Christmas Pageant with an unlikely cast of characters.   

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    Amelia Corbett
    Amelia is a cool chick, who enjoys board game construction, elephants, and overall tom foolery. She lives in Gladwin with her parents and younger sister Beatrice.  

    Pastor Emily Olsen
    The charmingly weird Pastor Emily is blessed to live in Beaverton, serve the people of Christ the King Lutheran in Gladwin, and stand up paddleboard in just about any body of water she can find.  She has cats not snakes, but wouldn't hesitate to take in a stray python. tarantula, or dinosaur should it show up on her doorstep.  

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    Stephanie Dubbs
    Stephanie is an art educator and a landscape/portrait artist.  Her inspirations come from the amazing people she meets and the gorgeous state of Michigan as well as her home state of Florida.  She and he husband love nature.  They are out in the water during the summer months and on the snow in the winter enjoying the simple pleasures of life.  
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Christ the King Lutheran Church
600 S. M 18 
Gladwin, Mi. 48624
989-426-1659
Pastor Emily Olsen
pastor.ctkinggladwin@gmail.com


Email ctkinggladwin@gmail.com for correction or to have information included on this web page
  • Home
    • Pictorial Directory
    • Contact Us
    • Links
  • Worship Procedures
  • Who are We
    • Mission and Vision
    • Staff and Office Hours
    • Church Council
    • History
    • Newsletter
    • Calendar
  • Faith Formation
    • Sunday School
    • Christ the King Youth
    • Camping Ministry
    • Kids Club
    • Confirmation
    • Vacation Bible School
  • Ministries
    • Stephen Ministry
    • Quilting
    • Food Distribution
    • Backpacks for kids
    • Prayer Shawl Ministry
    • Parish Nurse
    • Columbarium
  • Worship
    • Schedule of Worship
    • How we worship
    • Children
  • Special Events
  • Budget / Annual Meeting
  • Blog