Clothed in Christ

He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of His righteousness. Isaiah 61, verse 10. Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread.

Our reading, Clothed in Christ, was written and read by Kirsten Holmberg. Isaiah 61, verses 4 through 11. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated. They will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. Strangers will shepherd your flocks. Foreigners will work your fields and vineyards. And you will be called priests of the Lord. You will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast. Instead of your shame, you will receive a double portion. And instead of disgrace, you will rejoice in your inheritance. And so you will inherit a double portion in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours. For I, the Lord, love justice.

I hate robbery and wrongdoing. In my faithfulness, I will reward my people and make an everlasting covenant with them. Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the Lord has blessed. I delight greatly in the Lord. My soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of His righteousness. As a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations. Clothed in Christ. Rose Turner, a fashion psychologist at the London College of Fashion, studies the impact clothing has on how people think, how they behave, and even how clothes affect their mood. As the closest thing to our bodies, clothing forms a type of second skin and girds us for whatever the day might hold. For example, donning professional attire can help with motivation and concentration at work.

And wearing vintage pieces with sentimental value can bring comfort during stressful situations. This psychological phenomenon offers an insight into Isaiah's prophetic words about Jesus' sacrificial act. He records the future deliverance of the Jews from their captivity in Babylon, assuring them that they would one day rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated in their absence. And in that day, they would wear a robe of His righteousness.

Isaiah's prophecy was fulfilled first in the nation's return to Jerusalem, and then fully when God made Jesus sin for us so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. Righteousness describes our right relationship with God when we trust in Christ's sacrifice. God doesn't see us outfitted in shame or disgrace because of our sin. Instead, He sees us clothed in Jesus' enduring righteousness, a second skin that girds us with joy today and for eternity. Let's pray. Thank you, Jesus, for clothing us in your righteousness. Help us to always be mindful of this second skin that you have given us to wear every day. It's in your name we pray. Amen.