APPROPRIATE!

There’s me. Am I dressed appropriately for the beach, or what? Appearing in the appropriate attitude of repose? Applying the appropriate appurtenance to my aural appendage?

I confess I was ill-prepared. Not that I’m much of beach-person anyway. My goal was to keep the sun off my skin, saltwater off my body, and sand off my belongings. That’s why I go to the beach!

But I did kinda stand out amidst the solar ray-soaking and skin cancer-incubating swarms on the shore. Yup, it was hard to beat my garb and gear and gadget for gross inappropriateness. Especially considering it was close to 90° F that day.

Appropriate clothing! Believe it or not, that’s quite an important topic in the Scriptures. Firstly, the Bible makes it clear what sort of birthday suits we come in. Depraved in sin as we are, having nothing on/in us with which to find favor with God, we literally stand disgraced before Him from the start.

For all of us have become
like one who is unclean,
And all our righteous deeds
are like a filthy garment ….
Isaiah 64:6

But the Good News is that while our own (self-)righteousness was tainted and tattered and torn and threadbare, when we placed our trust in Christ as our Savior, we “appropriated” His perfect righteousness.

God made the one
who did not know sin
to be sin for us, so that in Him
we would become
the righteousness of God.
2 Corinthians 5:21

The great exchange. My sin for His righteousness. So much so, when God looks at the believer He sees Christ, because now—wonder of wonders!—we wear Him!

For all of you
who were baptized into Christ
have clothed yourselves with Christ.
Galatians 3:27

And that’s not all. In the last days, at the final reckoning, at the consummation of our earthly existence, we get the most appropriate clothing of all.

Let us rejoice and be glad
and give the glory to Him,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come
and His bride has made herself ready.
It was given to her
to clothe herself in fine linen,
bright and clean ….
Revelation 19:7–8

(Hmm … I wonder if they’ll have cell phones over there. Oh, well, I’ll just be glad and rejoice that there’s no beach in heaven—Rev 21:1, for the curious!)

But between now and then, between our outfitting of Christ in the past and the donning of fine linen in the future, we have a clothier’s task to perform in the present. Haute couture of the hour. The trend of today. The mode of the moment. The style of Scripture.

So, as those who have been
chosen of God, holy and beloved,
put on a heart of compassion,
kindness, humility,
gentleness and patience;
bearing with one another,
and forgiving each other, …
just as the Lord forgave you,
so also should you.
Beyond all these things
put on love,
which is the perfect bond of unity.
Colossians 3:12–14

Which is simply to say, we must depict the virtues of Christ, for we have put on Christ.

Oh, and lest we forget, this costumer’s responsibility is not just focused on our own bodies. We have to return the “favor” to Christ; then, one day He’ll tell us …

[I was] naked,
and you clothed Me ….
Truly I say to you,
to the extent that you did it
to one of these brothers of Mine,
even the least of them,
you did it to Me.
Matthew 25:36, 40

Let’s be clothed with Christ. Now that’s appropriate clothing!

And let’s go and clothe one another, brothers and sisters in Christ!