Let us be glad, rejoice, and give him glory,
because the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has prepared herself.
She was given fine linen to wear, bright and pure.
For the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the saints.
Revelation 19:7-8
When I put on someone else’s clothes, they don’t feel right. I had two older brothers who grew out of some of their clothes before they wore out. They passed those clothes on to me. When I was a teenager and young adult, it was great to get hand-me-downs from Bill and John, because both of them knew how to dress. But, there were times when they gave me clothes that I could tell weren’t bought for me when I looked at myself in the mirror. I was wearing something that didn’t quite fit. That’s the way I felt about the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
I knew God had given me his righteousness, but I pictured myself standing in front of a mirror with the clothes hanging off. I felt like, “Oh well, you look goofy, but come on in anyway.” That’s the way I saw myself, but that’s not the way God sees me. He doesn’t see me wearing Jesus’ hand-me-downs.
Jesus paid the price he did so I could be perfectly dressed without spot or wrinkle. I look good to God. I am astounded God would see me that way. I still feel like an awkward kid who needs the clothes taken up a little.
We are robed in the righteousness of Christ, not because we are worthy, but because God is great. His redemption is more wonderful than we can grasp. He has made me part of his family. He has fitted me with new clothes.
In 2002, Susan and I went to Ukraine in the former Soviet Union to adopt three siblings from an orphanage. The children we adopted arrived in the USA with carry-on bags only. They didn’t have any luggage to check. The carry-ons contained the items we had purchased for them in Ukraine. Most of what they had worn was community orphanage property. The shoes they had been wearing were much too small for them, and our shopping opportunities in Ukraine had been very limited.
Ukrainian retailers didn’t have merchandise in a back room in your size. If you didn’t see your size on display, it was because they didn’t have your size. So, one of the first things we did when our kids arrived in the States was to take them shopping. It took them a long time to understand that the things they saw on display in the US weren’t the only things available. Over and over as they saw items on display our children would say, “That’s too big for me,” or, “That’s too little.”
These shopping trips brought to mind metaphors in scripture about what we are to wear as God’s adopted children. It adds anticipation for the new wedding garments we will be given for the marriage feast of the lamb. We will be given robes of righteousness. In the meantime, we are to: “Put on the full armor of God” (Eph. 6:11).
It was exciting to take my children and buy new clothes for them. In Ukraine they wore the same clothes every day. While many Ukrainians had very well-made, nice-looking clothes, they wore them day after day. They didn’t have many clothes. Our kids were amazed at the clothing purchases we made for them.
Until we came to Ukraine and took them to an indoor city pool, our kids had never been in a swimming pool. They had bathed in a lake since early childhood as they had no indoor plumbing, and only the oldest boy knew how to swim. In Ukraine they had worn their underwear to swim. We couldn’t find swimsuits to buy in the market.
Shopping for my new kids made me realize how much our heavenly Father enjoys providing for his children. It’s not me begging my daddy to buy me something. He delights in giving good gifts to his children (Matt. 7:11). As much as it pleases our kids to get something from us, it pleases us more to give to them. God asked, “Are you starting to get it yet, Jim?”
What I can’t grasp, but that Jesus says in the gospel of John, is that we don’t have to ask Jesus to meet our needs; we can ask the heavenly Father, because the Father loves us just like he loves Jesus (John 16:25-27). For me to try to get my mind around the fact that God loves me, not as if I were his own son, but because I am his son is incomprehensible. He loves me as his son. He loves me the way he loves Jesus.
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