“What Are You Wearing?”
By Darlene Winans
I used to weigh 250 pounds. That caught your attention, didn’t it? I hated going clothes shopping. It was hard to find my size, and when I did, the battle in the dressing room began. This one looked like a tent. That one wasn’t flattering and made me look too big – news flash – I was big! I didn’t like the big person I saw in the mirror.
A few years later, and I weigh . . . a lot less. I’m down four dress sizes, and my attitude toward shopping and toward the woman in the mirror has changed – I enjoy trying on clothes! I mean, I’ve got some really cute stuff!
Now, you probably didn’t open this blog to read about fashion, and I didn’t write it to receive congratulations on my weight loss journey. Or to talk about intermittent fasting (look it up, there is a ton of information about it online). But I do want to ask, “What are you wearing?” When Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden, Genesis 3:21 says, “The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.” In their sin, Adam and Eve recognized their nakedness and were ashamed, so God covered them, He covered their sin and shame. For a time.
Centuries passed, and then He who was promised came. Our Savior and Deliverer, Jesus! Jesus came to free us from sin and shame. He represented the New Covenant between God and us. HE is our new covering. Paul writes in Romans 13:12(b)-14, “So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealous. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.” In this passage, Paul talks about being clothed with Christ, and what does that “outfit” look like? Armor of light.
Ephesians 6:14-17 talks about the full armor of God. The belt of truth. The breastplate of righteousness. Our feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. The shield of faith, and the sword of the Spirit. Women, as a fashion statement, armor is not very flattering! That belt accentuates my rolls in the middle! A breastplate over my already big chest? No way! But the armor of God is not intended for the cover of Vogue. It is intended to cover YOU. It is intended to defend you from the enemy’s fiery darts. It is intended as an offensive weapon to take down enemy strongholds.
I’m so glad our God did not leave us helpless and defenseless from the ravages of sin. He didn’t leave us naked and afraid, without hope after the Fall in the Garden of Eden. He promised Hope and He delivered Hope in His Son, Jesus. We are clothed with Christ, and our sin and shame are no more. We are clothed with His armor of light, an armor that continues to defend us and to take back territory that the enemy has stolen!
Wanna try it on? What are you wearing?
