Tailor Made

July 9, 2018

“Bring the best robe and put it on him.” So said the Prodigal’s father when his erring but now repentant son showed up smelling like a pig pen and asking to be allowed to assume the place of a slave. This little detail is not accidental. From the time of Joseph’s coat of many-colors, being given such a garment was a sign of honor and favor that has significance beyond itself. The Bible tells us that when we trust in God and believe that he sent his Son as the sacrifice for our sins, God imputes Christ’s righteousness to us. That old word “impute” simply means that in banking terminology, God puts in our spiritual account all the holiness of Jesus Christ. My account was not only empty; it was overdrawn by sin. Jesus not only brought me back to ground zero, leveling the playing field, he placed in my account something that wasn’t there before.

St. Paul uses clothing imagery to speak of what we have in Christ. We “put off the old man,” and “put on the new man made after the image of Christ.” This is a deliberate, definite, and continual act of faith on our part. Sometimes it seems like we’re still wearing those old sin-clothes; we struggle with temptation, with the old habits, with guilt, or unbelief. So by faith, we take off the old and put on the new, claiming for ourselves the righteousness that isn’t ours by right, but by grace. 

That new robe the father gave his son is the robe of righteousness that our Heavenly Father had hanging in our spiritual closet all the while we were straying, waiting for the day when we would come home. When we remove the old, he places the new on our shoulders...and smiles because it fits perfectly. I am thankful today to be wearing spiritual clothes that were given me by God himself. They are Tailor-made, and fit just right. Take a look in the mirror of God’s Word and smile yourself. In Christ, you are looking GOOD!