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"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 his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels." (Is. 61:10 NIV)
It's amazing how such a little thing could make me so happy. I felt like a little boy again, gifted with a new toy or a piece of candy...Only my "piece of candy" was a new pair of pants. Three of them, actually. And the best part? They were pants that actually...fit...
Why would a grown man get so excited about a new pair of pants?
Three months ago, my wife decided to make some significant dietary changes in the hopes of slowing my cognitive decline. She significantly cut the carbohydrates in our diet while increasing the intake of healthy fats. It was a big step, requiring significant culinary changes, but I must say, there was no change in the quality of the food that was put on the table. And although the jury is still out on whether or not this regime made any difference to my cognition, one of the side effects was that I lost 30 pounds, all from around my waist. Just like that, the "love handles" and the "beer belly" (her terms, not mine! I've never drunk beer in my life!) that I have always melted into nothingness.
Now most people would be happy to drop so much weight so easily, without having to starve themselves or kill themselves with exercise -- and don't get me wrong, this did make me happy -- but the fact that all of my pants now seemed to think they should rest on my knees instead of my waist ... well I could have done without that part! Even when I cinched my belts up to their last holes! I couldn't have been more grateful that day in Costco when she pointed to the clothing section and suggested we get me some new pants, ones that fit! And to make things even better, they had one of my favorite brands at a fraction of the price I remembered paying for them in the past! As I write this, I am now wearing a huge smile on my face. The pants I'm wearing seemed to have been specially made for me. They don't even need a belt to stay up around my waist where they belong -- and for the first time in weeks, I don't look like I'm "swimming" in my pants...
In some odd way, this all reminds me of Jesus and His gifts of righteousness ...
In the past, I tried to cover my sins with my own righteousness. Unfortunately, that righteousness was kind of like my closet full of pants that no longer fit. The more I tried to hold on to my righteousness, the more I tried to "earn" it, to "work it out", the more it just seemed to "slip" down to my knees. And to make matters worse, although my good works may have hidden some of my sin from the world, they didn't hide any of it from God. The day I accepted Jesus into my heart, the day I made Him the Lord and Saviour of my life, that was the day I became properly "clothed". All of my sin was not just covered, but removed: "as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." (Ps. 103:12 NIV)
And the best part? His righteousness always fits! It doesn't need anything to "hold it up". It is specially crafted for each one of us, specially formed to cover all of our individual bulges of sin, to never fall down around our knees and expose the ugly parts of our hearts. That's because it is a gift from Jesus Himself: "For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!" (Romans 5:17 NIV).
I praise God for new pants. But I especially praise Him for clothing me with Jesus' righteousness!
Do you need new pants today? Is your own righteousness falling down around your knees, leaving your sin exposed? Why not give come to the "Master Taylor" and let Him clothe you with His righteousness? Check out the Saviour's Call. Do it today!
In His love,
Rob Chaffart
Director, Answers2Prayer Ministries
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