Isa 61:3 They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.

  

This comes right near the end of the Messianic mandate of the first three verses of Isa 61, much of which was repeated by Luke when Jesus read from the scroll in the synagogue as recorded in Lk 4:17-19. The mandate is to preach good news to the poor and set the captives free. The end result of that is seen in the part of the verse above.

 

These people that Jesus saves will be called oaks of righteousness. Now an oak is a big, strong tree, that stands out and lasts and lasts. These people who are saved are pictured as these trees of great strength, but they are specifically trees of righteousness. These people's lives are characterised by righteousness, right standing before God and right living.

 

But more than that, they are people who have been planted by God. He called us, He convicted us, He saved us when we turned in repentance. We are what we are because of Him.

 

But we also have a goal. We are the display of his splendor. We are to reveal the wonder of His love and His transforming power, we are to be seen! Righteous lives stand out in a dark generation. In one sense we just have to be who we are in Christ, living according to His word and prompted by His Spirit, and we will be seen and God will be glorified. It's that simple. So are we?