Daily Bible Reading Reflections

His Planting, His Work, For His Glory

Today’s Bible reading is Isaiah 60 and 2 Corinthians 10.

In Isaiah 60, as the LORD reveals what life would be like once the Redeemer had come to Zion (59:20), he describes his people as “the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I might be glorified” (60:21).

His planting, his work, for his glory. What a great lens through which to view myself, my life, and the world around me! How much more clearly could I see…

If I approached my job and work ethic as a branch of his planting, the work of his hands, that he might be glorified… Isn’t that Colossians 3:23-24?

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

If I nourished and cherished my marriage as a branch of his planting, the work of his hands, that he might be glorified… Isn’t that Ephesians 5:31-32?

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.

If I approached parenthood as a branch of his planting, the work of his hands, that he might be glorified… Isn’t that Ephesians 6:4?

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

If we remembered that the health and growth of the Lord’s church is a branch of his planting, the work of his hands, that he might be glorified… Isn’t that 1 Corinthians 3:5-7?

What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

If I treated the rest of my life–my time, opportunities, and responsibilities–as a branch of his planting, the work of his hands, that he might be glorified… Isn’t that Ephesians 5:15-17?

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

His planting, his work, for his glory. How much more clearly could I see if I viewed the world through that lens?

You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (1 Cor 6:19-20)

Bearing fruit as a branch of God’s planting, the ongoing work of his hands, that he might be glorified. That’s life the way it was meant to be.