by Tim Hall

"Look at their size!" exclaimed Curtis. "They are so tall, so strong and stately! It must have taken years for them to become so large."

"Indeed," replied Andrew. "They stand head and shoulders above the rest. I wish I could be like that. But I'm just an ordinary Christian."

One might assume that Curtis and Andrew were discussing trees; gigantic oaks perhaps. In a sense, that's right. Isaiah once compared God's people to large, stately trees.

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me," begins Isaiah 61:1 (NKJV), a passage read by Jesus to begin His public ministry (Luke 4:16-20). The work ordained by God was to preach good tidings, heal the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty and to open prison doors. To this day it remains a prophecy of great hope for those looking for deliverance from a dreary world.

But what was to be the ultimate outcome of this work to which Christ was called? Verse 3 gives the answer: "That they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified." Some translations use "oaks" in the place of "trees". The idea is that those affected by the Lord's work will grow into strong specimens. And it will all be to the glory of God.

Now, back to Andrew's estimate of himself. Is he merely an ordinary Christian, doomed to live among the scrub trees of life? Though he may dream of being among the stately oaks, is his a dream destined for futility?

Jesus spoke to this thought in Matthew 13:31,32. He compared the kingdom of heaven to "a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches." Though the mustard seed might be regarded by many as "ordinary", its potential for growth is extraordinary.

Is it humility or lack of faith when we put limitations on our spiritual growth? The power does not arise from within us; it is in the seeds of faith which have been given to us by God through His word (Romans 10:17). Our charge is to plant and water the seeds; the rest is up to Him.

The seeds of faith will produce Christians whose talents and abilities differ. But every talent, when developed to its fullest, will lead people to point to "the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified."

Editor's note: Every Thursday morning, Tim sends out HEM-Lines. We encourage you to subscribe to this great weekly devotional.