Listen to the Word of God for you in Isaiah 61:3. "They will be called ... a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor."
Jesus quoted Isaiah 61:1-2 as he announced his purpose statement. He said, "The Spirit of the Lord is on me to preach the gospel to the poor, heal the brokenhearted, to set captives free, to open blind eyes, to open prison doors, and to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord." That's not the end of the sentence in Isaiah 61. Isaiah continues that he wants to make a holy exchange with you: his comfort for grief, his crown instead of ashes, his gladness for mourning, and his praise instead of despair. It continues, "You will be an oak of righteousness, a planting of the Lord," and the weight of the entire passage falls on the next words: "for the display of his splendor."
Jesus came to earth to heal you, set you free, and restore you for a purpose: so that you will display his splendor. You live to show forth his glory; you are called to this. This is who God gets you up in the morning to be. This defines you. God's appointment in you is that people see, feel, and respond to the weight and strength of your life, as you live in the splendor, strength, and weight of the glory of Jesus.
This is the true meaning of your life. Jesus said to his Father in John 17:22, "I have given them the glory that you gave me." That glory of Jesus is who you are. Your life is shining his light, the manifold wisdom of God in you. You are on a journey further into that identity, legitimacy, freedom, and confident hope. It is true of you now, and it is becoming more true of you.
God says in Psalm 8:5 that he crowned you with glory (splendor), honor, and majesty that is unique to you. Shine your unique testimony to the greatness of God. Christ came, lived, and died to bring out the richness of your life as you show forth his radiance. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, "We, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." You are blessed as you receive the light of Jesus shining in you to shine out of you, so that his beauty and truth will touch and warm the spirit of others.
But you have an enemy who wants to get you to turn your glory into shame. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:4 that the god of this age has a strategy: to blind your mind to keep you from seeing the light of the glory of Christ. Satan is trying to put out your light. He battles to stop you from displaying Jesus in all his glory.
God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in you to give you the light of knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ (2 Cor. 4:6). God in you is bigger than any assault to deaden your heart and your desire, to shut down the glory in your life, to keep you from affirming the splendor that is your inheritance.
Your splendor is seen in a hug, a smile, a card you write, a phone call, a kindness. Your splendor is seen in the small details of your life. God put you right where you are, in the family, in the marriage, in the valley of decision where you are. He placed you there to let his splendor be seen, to shine the light of his glory through you.
In your Father you have something deep, substantial, beautiful, authentic, and powerful for yourself and others. God created you for this very time in your life. It is never too late to accomplish the purpose for which God created you. Your times are in God's hands. Discover "How am I living God's glory?" Jesus is at work in you to fill your place in pleasing his heart and to fill the place in the world he designed for you to display him in the blessing of his presence and strength.
God is doing something of himself in you that is wonderful and unique, something that bonds you to him with everlasting cords of love.
Be blessed in the name of Jesus who is the Splendor revealed in you (Ps 145:5).
