Christmas Clothes – December 13, 2020

I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with jewels.
Isaiah 61:10

Christmas Clothes

Every year as Christmas approached, my mom would take my two brothers and me shopping for Christmas clothes. She insisted that we had to look our best for the Christmas Eve service and pictures afterward. So each year, Dad and Mom would drag three unhappy boys to some department store for an evening of trying on clothes. And the best or worst part of it, depending on your perspective, was that all three of us had to match. We usually ended up with identical or very similar outfits.

Do you have your Christmas clothes picked out this year? What about your spiritual clothes? What kind of clothes have you picked out for yourself today? Are you wearing the ugly robes of shame and guilt over the sins of last night? Perhaps you have chosen for yourself darker garments of jealousy and anger. Could it be that your clothes are permanently stained by the repetitive sins of greed, lust, or worry? Maybe you are sure that your clothes look pretty clean compared to those around you, but they smell of pride and arrogance.

Mom always said we should look our best for Christmas, but our best isn’t good enough for heaven, and it never will be.

As you prepare to celebrate Christmas, give thanks that Jesus has provided new spiritual clothing for you. The Bible says: “For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness.”

Through his suffering and death on the cross, Christ has taken away our sin-stained garments and removed them from us. Through his perfect life in our place, Christ has earned our forgiveness and salvation. Jesus has taken his robe of righteousness and wrapped it around us. In Christ, you and I are dressed for heaven. Give thanks to Jesus for your Christmas clothes—his garments of salvation which he has won for you.

Prayer:
Dear Jesus, thank you for earning salvation for me through your life and death in my place. Help me to always appreciate what you have done for me. Help me to live as you have clothed me—as a forgiven and righteous child of God. Amen.