Put on your robe
- Amber Miller: A Word of Truth
- January 8, 2018
- 1449
I am a dreamer. I’m not just talking about when I am awake, which I do a little of, but mainly while I’m asleep. I have some very vivid, strange, quite peculiar dreams, many of them as reoccurring ones.
One of the reoccurring dreams I’ve had quite a bit is I go somewhere and forget to wear clothes. Yes, it’s very strange and awkward and something I would never ever forget to do while awake.
For obvious reasons I always hated that dream. In the dream I never realized I forgot to get dressed until I arrived at the place I was going to and then discovered I didn’t have clothes on.
This left me completely vulnerable, trying to find a way to cover myself up, to hide the shame and exposure I felt. The dream would soon end, and I would wake up, thanking God it wasn’t real.
I do have a point to sharing this oddity, I promise. The reason I felt compelled to share it is because it made me think of how we sometimes feel when approaching God. We all know that he is God and he knows all about us because nothing is hidden from his sight. Nothing. And sometimes that can make us feel very vulnerable, as if we are standing naked and ashamed in his sight.
So we try to hide from him, covering ourselves just like Adam and Eve did with the fig leaves to make ourselves less exposed. But don’t we know that God can see right through all of that? Don’t we know that no matter how we try to run from him or hide ourselves, he still knows everything about us?
Don’t be scared by this but take comfort. Because more importantly, don’t we realize that through Jesus we are now not naked and ashamed, but rather we are clothed? Not clothed with the apparel of guilt and shame, but rather with the garments of salvation and a beautiful robe of righteousness he purchased for us.
Isaiah 61:10 says, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”
When we are ashamed to approach God because we feel naked and vulnerable, disgraced because of what we have done, we have forgotten about Jesus and the righteousness he provided.
We should never approach God based on our own merits and self-righteousness, thinking we are good enough because of our own performance to come to that throne of grace. No, scripture says that our own righteousness is as “filthy rags.” — Isaiah 64:6.
The garments of salvation and robe of righteousness can only come one way, and that is through receiving Jesus as our Savior. When we receive him, there is a great exchange that takes place: Our sin for his righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). Also part of that exchange was him being shamed and disgraced so we don’t have to be.
Did you know the soldiers that put the crown of thorns on the head of Jesus first stripped him naked before placing a robe on him to mock him (Matthew 27:28)? Jesus allowed himself to become completely vulnerable and shamed on our behalf. Now because of that, Isaiah 61:7 says, “Instead of shame you shall have double honor.”
The shame that many carry around, not only when approaching God but when approaching others as well, he has already carried in our place. We need to renew our own minds to what Jesus has done for us and put on in our minds that beautiful robe of righteousness that we now have through him. Shame should no longer be our focus.
I know there are some who are having a hard time believing this because we have been so trained by religion to focus on ourselves and our shortcomings instead of Jesus and what he has done for us. But we need to change our focus from ourselves to him, from our natural shortcomings to his supernatural grace that covers those shortcomings. When we focus on him, we become more like him.
Thank you Jesus. Through your precious blood shed on our behalf we can be clothed in your righteousness. We don’t deserve it, and nothing we do for you can begin to scratch the surface of what you have done for us. We simply receive it by faith and thank you for your wonderful grace. Help us to always keep you and what you have done for us as our focus.
Amen.
Amber can be reached at amberdeemiller32@gmail.com or through her AmberRiceMiller Facebook page.