Of Our Pasts

Saturday, August 24, 2024

The Winds of Adversity Will Lay Us Flat, Broken

Zechariah 3:4

The angel said to those who were standing before him, ‘Take off his filthy clothes.’ And to him he said, ‘See, I have taken your guilt away from you, and I will clothe you in festal apparel.’

Luke 15:22-24

But the father said to his slaves, “Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!” And they began to celebrate.

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Words of Grace For Today

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‘Pulling the least dirty shirt from the closet’

so goes the Johnny Cash song, not of a great day, but of a drunk’s morning after a binger of a night.

We’d all like to think we are not that bad off.

But, each in our own way, are at least much worse off, when it comes to being able to dress for our morning audiences before God, our judge.

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The Good News is that Jesus comes each morning (each moment) and invites us to take off all that filth and dirt of the previous dark times, and to put on a festive robe, befitting a king. Then Jesus invites us to the banquet with him, as one of God’s own children.

Our God, judge of all, is steadfast in love for all God’s creatures.

How will we start our day: in a filthy shirt from the dirt of our pasts, or in festive clothing offered to us by our Saviour, Jesus?