“…They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.” Isaiah 61:3b
-Why do you think He says we become “a planting of the Lord?”
Through this phrase, we see that our life is not our own. We belong to the Lord. We are a “planting” for His glory. We are here for His purposes, not our own. Isaiah 44:5 says, “One will say, ‘I belong to the Lord;’ another will call himself by the name of Jacob; still another will write on his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’ and will take the name Israel.” We “belong to the Lord.” Isaiah 43:7 says that we are created for God’s glory. Sadly, Satan has convinced us that we belong to ourselves and that we have the right to live our lives anyway we want for our own purposes. The world says that the purpose in life is to be happy. Though when we walk with God, we will experience a joyful and abundant life (John 10:10), we are not here on this earth for our own happiness. We are here to bring God glory and carry out His Kingdom purposes on this earth. Thus, we are a “planting of the Lord” to “display His splendor.”
…This lesson is really a lesson in humility. God deserves all the glory for the transformation in our lives. He is the one who initiated a relationship with us; made a relationship with Him possible; and now nurtures and grows us. He is the one who will complete us in Christ. “Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6). It is very freeing for us to realize that it is God who changes us. He wants us to get off the treadmill of “trying harder and harder.” We are not to live a life of self-effort, but of God-dependency. There are things He calls us to do in order to bring about this growth; such as, reading His Word, fellowship, prayer, ministering to others, and obedience. But ultimately, it is the Holy Spirit who transforms us…
Comments