Sorry I'm a bit late today.
"So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's" (Romans 14:
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Every generation experiences at least a couple dozen clothing fashion fads. Now, turkey hunters are the exception to the rule. We're content to use the same camo, hats and gloves until they become thread-bare. If I could figure a way to wall mount my first vinyl camo jacket (in a manner that meets my wife's approval), I would!
Back to fads. Wearing the latest in fashionable clothing gives people a sense of belonging. Such apparel offers identity.
From the moment God spoke the command,
"Be fruitful and multiply" (Gen 1:22), our need to belong to a community of other people became clear. Over time and because of sin, the healthy need God created in us to belong to someone got tied to the possession of things. God made us to belong to Him and set His seal of ownership on us. But fallen humanity spurned that standard of belonging, and forfeited membership in God's community of grace.
Jesus Christ came with the mission of restoring our broken relationship with God. While everybody belongs to someone, Jesus entered our world so that we may belong to God alone. Through faith in Jesus' atoning and reconciling work on the cross, we became clothed in the garment of God's righteousness, holiness, and purity!
Wow ...what clothing! ...and it's not faddish fetish that changes every few years! The garment of Christ's righteousness make us perfectly acceptable to God in this life and the next! We are always "in style" with God and our fellow believers. There's no higher community to belong to, than the community created by Jesus Christ.
-Dale
