Good morning. What would you do if you wanted to get into a special party or celebration, one that you hadn’t been invited to? If you knew that the party was reserved for the upper of the upper crust, could you put on a tux or a gown, put a fake Rolex on your wrist or a fake diamond necklace around your neck, hire a limo to drop you off, and strut right in? Hey, it seems to work in the movies, right?
Whatever the special gathering, no matter how exclusive the list of those invited, there must be a costume available to fool people into thinking we belong if we were to look hard enough, don’t you think?
Probably not. The people in charge would tend to be careful about such things, I imagine. But if the pay-off were worth it, wouldn’t it be worth a try?
So, imagine this: There is a place that is absolutely fantastic and there will be a party held for all who are present. There will be a great banquet to honor those who are invited to attend. And here is the truly wonderful part, once you are in the celebration doesn’t stop and you are never asked to leave!
But there is a catch, God is the one guarding the door. It is God whom you would need to get past to gain entrance. It is God’s rule that all who will be allowed to enter must be absolutely pure, righteous, and holy. What kind of disguise, what kind of costume could you wear to pull that off? When God sees you approaching His door, what (or more appropriately, who) will He see? There is no doubt about it, none of us will be able to fool God.
Now for the great news, we don’t have to. We are on the list. That’s right, you and I are on the list of those invited to enter, to be honored, to enjoy the great banquet.
But wait a minute, God is still the one at the door, and He knows us. He knows about every sin and failure. He knows that we aren’t worthy, and certainly not pure, righteous, and holy. He knows….the truth of each of us.
When God sees you coming towards his door there is no need for falsehood, no need to pretend, no need for concern, at least not if you are properly dressed.
You see, it isn’t a costume, it is a truth. There is only one way to dress, one way to present ourselves when we come to God, and He has told us exactly what it is:
For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Galatians 3:27
We put on Jesus when we come to Him in obedience. When we put on Jesus, that is who God sees. Not our sin, not our failures, only Jesus, only the Son of God. We put on Jesus, and we are hidden in Him, covered by Him, loved by Him and the Father.