Doing Care Work Like a Bamboo Part 2

One of the delectable foods I grew up with: bamboo shoots.  They are a future bamboo growth. It is sacrificial when cut out from the root of mother-bamboo all for the purpose of feeding a family. We slice the shoots into thin strips, cook them with meat, seafood and coconut milk, or, made as part of a rice wrap or a salad. It is a gastronomic delight at the cost of a future bamboo. But it’s the food that hits the spot, while the cane does not.

It is with this lens that I understand Isaiah 11:1-2 (NASB) “Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.” This Shoot who is Jesus will be good for a soul. He comes forth like that shepherd’s heart of David (shoot from the stem of Jesse). He comes out as a sacrificial shoot. He will be fruitful!

Influenced by my culinary culture, I understand that I serve Jesus, sharing Him to people who need “food”. The food I serve was sacrificially procured, satisfying deeply like what He is: “The Bread of Life”!

I take delight and pride that I am serving precious food: The Shoot from David, a man after God’s heart. In my experience, He never fails to satisfy a troubled heart.

+ Pastor Sanny Olojan

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