They are the shoot I have planted,
    the work of my hands,
    for the display of my splendour.

An old Christian song goes:

”Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me, All his wonderful passion and purity, O thou Spirit divine, all my nature refine, Till the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.”

As we grasp the full picture of the Bible’s message, we can have no doubt that God’s work in each believer, to make us glorious, is all for His glory. It is not our work; we cannot boast.

Paul writes like this in Ephesians 2:10, having emphasised in verses 8 and 9 that salvation is all of God, and not of us:

 ”For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

I understand that the word translated ”handiwork” can also be rendered ”poem”. Each one of us is God’s composition; His masterpiece; His work of art. The painting may be admired for its beauty, but everyone knows that the credit belongs to the artist.

”14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Mt.5:14-16)