shoes

I am afraid that my image at church has been forever tainted by my description of my shoe wearing habits last Sunday. In response to the many questions I endured...  Yes - I buy all my shoes used - yes - you can certainly tell that someone else has had their old feet in the shoes - no - I don't spray them first, I just put them on and pretend they've been mine all along - no - so far as I know I have not gotten any kind of disease .... yet.

We were reminded on Sunday that the Lord Himself has already clothed us in new garments that are created in the "likeness of God, in holiness and righteousness." (We will discover in Eph. 6 that we have a great new pair of shoes as well!) He has not just stored away our old garments (the old self) but rather those garments are gone for "we have been crucified with Christ", and "we have died and our life is now hidden with Christ."

There is a great passage about new clothes in Zechariah 3:3-10. Joshua, the High Priest, is standing in "filthy garments" and the Lord commands an angel to take away the old clothing and He instead adorns him with "festal robes" and he gets a new hat as well! It is a picture of our iniquity being removed and the righteousness of Christ being placed upon us. The source of these wondrous new clothes is of course Jesus - Zech. 3:8 describes Jesus as The Branch who will accomplish that great work in one day. The picture ends with all of us sitting under fruitful trees, dressed in fine clothing, drinking the fruit of the produce and enjoying the Lord and one another.

In Christ - that is a picture of what we have today! You are clothed in His righteousness today - the old has passed away - the new has come!