When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares. . . . This happened that the Scripture might be fulfilled which said: "They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing." (Jn. 19:23,24)
Have you ever thought about the sad irony of that? Fighting over Jesus' clothes, when he was offering them forgiveness and life that is truly life! The God of heaven and earth is there before them in human form and all they are focused on is who gets to wear his suit. Somebody walked off wearing Jesus' outfit. But the clothes didn't give him the life that their original owner possessed, and while the clothes wore out, the life he would have given them is forever.
Is it just me, or do a lot of people today continue to "fight over Jesus' clothing" and miss the essence of his life and mission? All they seem to care about is the externals, the trappings, the way things look. They love to dress up "Christian," and their eyes never really turn upward to take in the Man himself. Why do you suppose that is? I used to be one of them. For me it was just a whole lot easier to argue over the clothing than to be confronted by the real heart of Jesus and what he was asking of me.
Jesus, clothe me in your deep, inner goodness and your grace, your compassion and your reckless love. Amen.
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