Best Dress

Isaiah 61:10 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 her jewels.
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Luke 24:49 “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
 
WHAT do you wear to worship? It used to be that the phrase “Sunday best” in America meant you were wearing your best clothes. That phrase has become obsolete, turned to “Sunday casual”. Perhaps that is one reason the church in the U.S. has generally become casual about Jesus.
   It’s true that our outer dress is of little consequence as it relates to our salvation. After all, we must wear Jesus’ gospel on our heart. But would it be more appropriate for our clothes to reflect the garment of salvation God bestows upon our hearts?
   There is a wonderful “best dress” scene in Zechariah. God has brought the Jews home from their exile in Babylon. In a vision, the Lord reveals his forgiveness to Israel: Zechariah 3:4 The angel said to those who were standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes.” Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put rich garments on you.” This is what Jesus has done for you. God has brought you out of sin’s exile to forgive your sins into his holy garments of praise! How gracious your God is to dress you in garments of salvation and a robe of righteousness. Saved in Jesus, you are as a lavishly dressed bridegroom. Head to foot God’s holiness marks you as his. The jewels of God’s Spirit brighten your countenance. You are as a bride in a husband’s loving, devoted eyes.
   Yes, in Christ, you are dressed in the best. The first apostles certainly knew this. The Holy Spirit refined them and made their hearts new. They quickly showed the world they were dressed in God’s garments of praise as they displayed his power from on high. Clothed with salvation on their lips and healing in their hands, the apostles began to cover the world with Jesus’ life-giving blood. Garments of salvation and robes of righteousness became the fashion to transform a pagan world.
   Do you know what you are wearing? If you confess Jesus, are you aware God  has so lavishly dressed you? What would happen if “Sunday best” became your “Daily Best”? How would your life change if you understood more deeply that God has dressed you in his gracious love and righteousness each day? Would people see your garment of salvation in the way you live? Would they know God covers you with his power?
   Would you know it?
 
Prayer: LORD God, I thank you for the new clothes of my salvation. Keep my heart and mind diligent to dress in you each day, so the world will see your garment of praise covers my life. May I always be particular about the way I dress my heart for you. Amen.