SWAPPING CLOTHES
Our recent study of the gospel of Mark has impressed upon me the seriousness of humility if we are truly “on the way with Jesus.” As I went back through my note sheets and sermon outlines, I noticed two of the last three passages (Mark 9:14-50 and Mark 10:32-52) had direct calls to humility and serving others. As I was meditating on the concept of humility, a memory from last year came to mind.
We had taken a family vacation to Florida. It was a “Big Birthday” for Mike, so my three daughters and I had planned ahead to take him out for a nice dinner at a classy restaurant. Mike had been looking forward to tasting the food from the establishment for some time. I was excited because as those of you with grown children know, it is hard to get all your kids together in the same place at the same time. Almost impossible, usually. The more kids who are able to attend any celebration, the more special it becomes.
The afternoon of our dinner reservation, we girls began to get ready for the dinner. I had brought a nice dress from home to wear and made sure a pair of cute shoes made it into the suitcase. I even brought special jewelry to accentuate my outfit. I really wanted to look nice for Mike at this dinner. I heard a knock at the door of our hotel room and went to answer it. It was one of our daughters, and she looked distressed.
I opened the door and she looked glumly at the floor. “I forgot to pack any nice clothes. I only have my vacation stuff.”
“WHAT???” I blurted out. “How could you have forgotten to bring anything to wear for Dad’s dinner?”
“I guess I won’t be able to go,” she sighed.
To say I was extremely unhappy is an understatement. “Seriously??? You knew it was Dad’s birthday. We’ve been planning dinner at this place for weeks. You know how hard it was to get a reservation there! I even reminded you to bring something nice last week!” I stammered.
“You’ll just have to go without me,” she replied more nonchalantly than I felt was appropriate for the seriousness of the situation.
“We can’t go without you!” I replied in frustration. “Part of the gift was that THE WHOLE FAMILY WAS GOING TO BE THERE TO CELEBRATE WITH DAD! You don’t have anything you could wear? Are you sure?”
“Nope,” she exclaimed. “Not unless you want me to wear running shorts and a t-shirt.”
“Ugh,” I lamented. The counselor in me knew I needed to take a break, or I was going to lose it. “Give me a minute,” I spat through gritted teeth. I shut the door, and she walked back to her hotel room.
I looked at the pretty dress and shoes I had brought from home just for this occasion. I glanced at my suitcase and saw a pair of long pants. They were old and not really dressy, but they weren’t jeans or shorts. After digging in my suitcase further, I found a plain cotton shirt. I grimaced as I pictured the looks I would get from the staff and other guests at the restaurant if I wore these two pieces of clothing.
I called our daughter back into the room. “I found something for you to wear,” I sighed and handed her my fancy dress.
“What? No! That’s your pretty dress. I can’t.”
“Please. It would mean a lot to Dad if you joined us for this celebration.”
“But what will you wear?”
“I have something. Don’t worry about me. Put on the dress and shoes. And hurry up or we’re going to be late for our reservation.”
I shut the door and began to get dressed. Instead of the designer dress, I slung on the pants and the shirt. My stomach churned. Would people think I didn’t belong at the restaurant? What assumptions would they make about me? I decided it didn’t matter. The most important thing was that we were all going to be together to celebrate Mike’s birthday. And this was the only way our daughter would be able to attend.
I think this came to mind with all the recent emphasis on servanthood and humility because it reminds me of how Jesus gave us His beautiful robes of righteousness. Isaiah writes, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exalt in God, for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness” (61:10). What did I offer in return? Isaiah tells us later in the book that “all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment” (64:6). The honor and respect that should have been His, He willingly gave up. He didn’t get angry. He didn’t even lose His patience like I did. It was more important for Him to provide a way for us to be with the Father. His “swapping of clothes” with me provided a way for me to be with the Father.
He emptied Himself as it says in Philippians 2 and wore my ragged clothes…so I could be with Him and the Father in paradise. Forever.
We did go to the fancy restaurant for dinner. Our daughter looked gorgeous. I got some disapproving looks from the restaurant staff and other patrons. They probably wondered why I didn’t do more to dress up for the occasion and the restaurant.
I chose to look worse so my daughter could look beautiful and enjoy a special meal with us. And it was worth it.
Jesus chose the ultimate act of humility. He provided for our eternal well-being rather than seeking the glory, honor and praise that He deserved.
I’m so glad He thought I was worth it.
Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift. 2 Cor 9:15
We had taken a family vacation to Florida. It was a “Big Birthday” for Mike, so my three daughters and I had planned ahead to take him out for a nice dinner at a classy restaurant. Mike had been looking forward to tasting the food from the establishment for some time. I was excited because as those of you with grown children know, it is hard to get all your kids together in the same place at the same time. Almost impossible, usually. The more kids who are able to attend any celebration, the more special it becomes.
The afternoon of our dinner reservation, we girls began to get ready for the dinner. I had brought a nice dress from home to wear and made sure a pair of cute shoes made it into the suitcase. I even brought special jewelry to accentuate my outfit. I really wanted to look nice for Mike at this dinner. I heard a knock at the door of our hotel room and went to answer it. It was one of our daughters, and she looked distressed.
I opened the door and she looked glumly at the floor. “I forgot to pack any nice clothes. I only have my vacation stuff.”
“WHAT???” I blurted out. “How could you have forgotten to bring anything to wear for Dad’s dinner?”
“I guess I won’t be able to go,” she sighed.
To say I was extremely unhappy is an understatement. “Seriously??? You knew it was Dad’s birthday. We’ve been planning dinner at this place for weeks. You know how hard it was to get a reservation there! I even reminded you to bring something nice last week!” I stammered.
“You’ll just have to go without me,” she replied more nonchalantly than I felt was appropriate for the seriousness of the situation.
“We can’t go without you!” I replied in frustration. “Part of the gift was that THE WHOLE FAMILY WAS GOING TO BE THERE TO CELEBRATE WITH DAD! You don’t have anything you could wear? Are you sure?”
“Nope,” she exclaimed. “Not unless you want me to wear running shorts and a t-shirt.”
“Ugh,” I lamented. The counselor in me knew I needed to take a break, or I was going to lose it. “Give me a minute,” I spat through gritted teeth. I shut the door, and she walked back to her hotel room.
I looked at the pretty dress and shoes I had brought from home just for this occasion. I glanced at my suitcase and saw a pair of long pants. They were old and not really dressy, but they weren’t jeans or shorts. After digging in my suitcase further, I found a plain cotton shirt. I grimaced as I pictured the looks I would get from the staff and other guests at the restaurant if I wore these two pieces of clothing.
I called our daughter back into the room. “I found something for you to wear,” I sighed and handed her my fancy dress.
“What? No! That’s your pretty dress. I can’t.”
“Please. It would mean a lot to Dad if you joined us for this celebration.”
“But what will you wear?”
“I have something. Don’t worry about me. Put on the dress and shoes. And hurry up or we’re going to be late for our reservation.”
I shut the door and began to get dressed. Instead of the designer dress, I slung on the pants and the shirt. My stomach churned. Would people think I didn’t belong at the restaurant? What assumptions would they make about me? I decided it didn’t matter. The most important thing was that we were all going to be together to celebrate Mike’s birthday. And this was the only way our daughter would be able to attend.
I think this came to mind with all the recent emphasis on servanthood and humility because it reminds me of how Jesus gave us His beautiful robes of righteousness. Isaiah writes, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exalt in God, for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness” (61:10). What did I offer in return? Isaiah tells us later in the book that “all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment” (64:6). The honor and respect that should have been His, He willingly gave up. He didn’t get angry. He didn’t even lose His patience like I did. It was more important for Him to provide a way for us to be with the Father. His “swapping of clothes” with me provided a way for me to be with the Father.
He emptied Himself as it says in Philippians 2 and wore my ragged clothes…so I could be with Him and the Father in paradise. Forever.
We did go to the fancy restaurant for dinner. Our daughter looked gorgeous. I got some disapproving looks from the restaurant staff and other patrons. They probably wondered why I didn’t do more to dress up for the occasion and the restaurant.
I chose to look worse so my daughter could look beautiful and enjoy a special meal with us. And it was worth it.
Jesus chose the ultimate act of humility. He provided for our eternal well-being rather than seeking the glory, honor and praise that He deserved.
I’m so glad He thought I was worth it.
Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift. 2 Cor 9:15
by Heather Hogue, Women's Ministry Team
Posted in Faith Blogs
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