Oaks of Righteousness

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,

because the Lord has anointed me

to preach good news to the poor. . . .

To bestow on them a crown of beauty

instead of ashes,

the oil of gladness

instead of mourning,

and a garment of praise

instead of a spirit of despair.

They will be oaks of righteousness

a planting of the Lord

for the display of his splendor. (Is. 61:1, 3)

How I long to walk into that forest! How I long to be in a place where righteousness towers around me in the people I meet and worship with! To be in a forest populated with good lives all around would be such a sign of peace and comfort. Even in the midst of disaster such oaks would stand.

How I long to be in a wood where righteousness is characterized by beauty, gladness, and praise rather than ashes, mourning, and despair! Such lives would be crowned with a beauty that would shine out of their faces and work out of their hands. Such lives would be painted with laughter and gladness because of the joy that comes from them. Such lives would be clothed in praise and worship, their very movements speaking of the goodness and power of God. They would be right and good as God is right and good, not a mere caricature.

The seed of these "oaks of righteousness" is the good news, the year of the Lord's favor. The soil where the seeds are planted is even among the broken-hearted, the captives, the prisoners, and those who mourn. What causes them to grow is beauty, gladness, and praise in our God. Only then will the oaks be a "planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor."

My efforts at righteousness are often full of the ashes, mourning, and despair of pleasing and impressing others. Nothing grows here. It is a field sowed with bitter salt. Such "righteousness" has only scattered the seed, hardened the soil, and deprived any nourishment to what might grow. As Jesus says, such righteousness gets taken away by the devil, withers away under pressure, and is choked out by wealth and pleasures before it can become even a sapling. It is momentary, merely a tourist in the "planting of the Lord."

Lord, today let my efforts be to accept the crown of beauty that the good news brings, to be anointed with the oil of gladness found in God's favor, and to wear a garment of praise for all his comfort he has given me. Maybe I might someday become a resident, a true pilgrim in the "planting of the Lord." Amen.