DESIGNER CLOTHES... Sunday

Devotional for 3/23/14

As a child or teenager we often want desperately to fit in with the "in" crowd.  Sometimes that means having the right hair style, or the right nails, or even the right clothes.  Those clothes are often expensive items made by a certain company or designer. Even as we grow into adulthood, the desire to look good and fit in may continue in the way we dress or make ourselves up.

As humans we look at the outside, but God takes a different view of us.  What "clothing" does God desire for us to wear?

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.  Colossians 3:12-14 (NIV)

That is a tall order!  Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, and then on top of those being forgiving and loving over all.  That's like the "designer clothing" of character.  Who can possibly be all those things all the time?  No one, of course.  We are not perfect.  But we can strive for these qualities with God's help, even if just a little at a time.  These are things we do to clothe ourselves as witnesses since we have already received forgiveness from God.

But when God the Great Designer of all does the clothing, he removes our sinful clothes completely and gives us the "Designer Clothes" of purity, salvation.  All he sees when he looks at us then is righteousness because of the sacrifice of his Son, Jesus Christ, who died in our place as payment for our sins.

Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments.  And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.”  Zechariah 3:3-4 (ESV)

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.  Isaiah 61:10 (ESV)

Dear Father in heaven, designer of the whole world, thank you for clothing me with the righteousness of your Son, Jesus Christ, forgiving me of absolutely everything.  Help me to live a life filled with grateful thankfulness for the free gift of salvation, witnessing to those around me of your great love and mercy.  In Jesus' name, Amen.

written by Jan Andersen

Today's song is "You Are My Righteousness" sung by Go Deep