Reflecting God’s Glory

Scripture — Isaiah 60:2-3 (NRSV)

For darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the LORD will arise upon you,
and his glory will appear over you.
Nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

Devotion

If, like me, you’re a lover of Handel’s Messiah, then you can’t read Isaiah 60:2-3 without hearing in your mind the words of this passage sung by a deep bass voice: “For, behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people; but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.”

In its original setting, centuries before it was put to music by Handel, this prophecy of Isaiah emphasized the worldwide impact of the Lord’s blessing of Israel. As God revealed divine glory to and through Israel, this glory would be reflected to all the nations. All nations would be drawn to Jerusalem to see the light of God. Thus, God would fulfill the promise to Abraham to bless all the peoples of the earth through him and his nation (Gen 12:2).

This is exactly what began to happen in Jesus Christ. As we read in John’s gospel: “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14). Jesus, the ultimate revelation of God’s glorious grace, was the Savior, not just of Israel, but of the whole world. People from all nations have come—and are coming—to experience God’s glory through him.

Our passage from Isaiah 60 reminds us that we are to reflect God’s glory into the dark world around us. As we communicate God’s truth, as we reach out with God’s love, as we offer forgiveness and mercy, and as we live and speak and work differently, people will see God’s glory through us and be drawn to God. That is an essential element of our high calling as Christians. We’re to reflect God’s glory wherever we are, in every quarter of our world.

Jesus talked about this very thing in the Sermon on the Mount, though using slightly different language. He said, “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven” (Matt 5:14-16). Notice what happens when people see our good works. They don’t praise us. They don’t think we’re so special. Rather, the “give glory to [our] Father in heaven.” This suggests that we have been honest with people about what – or, better, Who – enables us to live in this world with truth, justice, and grace. When we give God the credit that God is due, then others will glorify God when we do what’s right.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Work’s Ultimate Meaning (Isaiah 60ff.).