I
am the righteousness of God...
II
Corinthians 5:21
God made Him Who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become
the righteousness of God.
I
Peter 2:24
He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins
and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed.
Joni and
Friends Daily Devotional
October 20,
2011
Clothed in
Righteousness
For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed
yourselves with Christ. Galatians 3:27
“I often wish I could dress myself. I can't pull on a sweater,
button a jacket, or hike up a pair of slacks. This frustrating predicament has
driven me at times to God for help. And isn't it like the Lord to give not only
grace, but insight. I was reading today's verse and decided to hunt down other
references to clothes. Isaiah 61:10 says ‘I delight greatly in the Lord... for
He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of
righteousness.’ There's a similar reference in Revelation 19:8. Even back at
the Garden of Eden, it was God who provided skins to clothe Adam and Eve after
the Fall.
“Why does the Bible say that God clothes us when it speaks of our
righteousness? Then it hit me. Garments of salvation and robes of righteousness
are things we cannot provide for ourselves. God provides the salvation and the
righteousness - yes, we can clothe ourselves with Christ as it says in today's
reading, but it's His righteousness, not ours. Righteousness is something that
God does to us and for us. In fact, when we try to impress God by our own acts
of righteousness, the Bible doesn't call them clothes, but ‘filthy rags’
(Isaiah 64:6). Can you imagine putting on a garment which you sewed out of
smelly, soiled rags? I now have a whole new perspective on my ‘robe of
righteousness’ whenever someone dresses me!
“The Lord Jesus Christ is our garment of praise, our robe of
righteousness, our garment of salvation. Put Him on today and delight in all
that He sacrificed to clothe you in something so precious, so priceless...His
righteousness.
“Lord God, I want to be clothed in Your righteousness, not
righteous acts performed through my fleshly effort. I put You on today. Help me
to put off sin and self-centeredness and anything that detracts from Your
glory. You are my robe of salvation and I couldn't be dressed in a finer
garment!”
It can be hard to see ourselves as “His righteousness,” can’t
it? After all, we live with ourselves 24/7 – we know every thought we’ve
had – every choice we’ve made – every time we’ve blown it – in the last
hour! We can pretend to be “holy” – put on the veneer of Christianity and
say all the right things, but down deep we know we’re fakers, right? Or
is it just me? (Well – I’m not REALLY a faker – but I have been.)
But that doesn’t mean that I find it easy to accept that I am HIS
righteousness! You know what? I’ve come to realize that it doesn’t matter
what I think or feel! As a child of God I AM His righteousness – He has
given it to me as a gift! It does help to remember that when I
blow it! If God chose to give me the gift of His righteousness when I
came to Him on His terms – knowing all the thoughts and choices and mistakes I’d
make between here and heaven (and He knew them all) – why do I worry that He
might take it back? He won’t! SO – I can look myself in the mirror
and tell myself that “I am the righteousness of God” – not because of anything
I have done or will ever do – but because of what Jesus did for me!
Sharon
Sharon Pearce, Director
Silent Voices International
355 K Street, Suite H
Chula Vista, CA 91911
619-422-0757
www.silentvoices.org
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