There were racks and racks of jeans. My daughter insisted it was time for this “Mimi” to get a new pair of jeans…something about my jeans being outdated. What?!! Me outdated!! I love the stuff from the sixties. Okay, maybe I wasn’t crazy about the seventies and come to think about it, I wasn’t into the 80’s either. But I did begin to warm up to the nineties once styles and colors became more eclectic.
Do I hear any “amens”?!!
Once I found a pair of jeans that worked, that was it. Why bother looking anymore??
Not to mention that trying on jeans is not an experience I would equate with drinking Chai’s, reading a good book or anything remotely fun. My daughter selected about ten pairs of jeans and insisted I try them all on while she and her two girls waited in the dressing room. My two g’daughters played in front of the mirrors while their Mimi had “fun” trying on jeans. Every now and then there was a gasp that came from the dressing room…like, “EEEEKKK, I can’t believe these are too small”… “I would never be seen in public with these”…”Does anybody make these things for real people?!!!”
My daughter calmly said, “Mom, just try on the jeans.”
Well, “lo and behold” we found two pairs of jeans from the 21st century that actually worked!! I thanked my daughter profusely for waiting patiently while I tried them on. It takes a real friend to sit and wait in a dressing room while a girlfriend tries to find the perfect pair of jeans. Ha!!
And yes, there is a spiritual lesson here.
The process of trying on jeans is terribly humiliating. No need to say why. Those of you who have tried to find the perfect pair will know. As for the rest of you, just wait until you’re a Mimi:-)
Just like trying on new jeans, one must go through the uncomfortable process of seeing ourselves as we really are before we can be clothed with the righteousness of Christ.
According to Romans 5-6…because one man sinned, death entered into the world and spread to all men. Therefore, all have sinned. Nevertheless, because of the obedience of one man, the God-man Jesus Christ the “second Adam,” many are made righteous through HIS obedience. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our LORD.
In the wake of the death of Billy Graham, it is good to remember the simple, yet profound power of the GOSPEL.
All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Yes, that includes me. I can always find someone worse than myself or better. But in the quiet of my heart, I know I have fallen far short of the holiness of God. I have cried many tears and often lamented, “O LORD, I am a such a grievous sinner!!!
The other day, while I was praying and lamenting once again this very fact, these words came to my mind…”Yes, that is true. You are a grievous sinner. BUT you also have a glorious Savior. Both are true!!!!”
Yes, I am a sinner, but God has provided a way for me to approach a holy God. I can do that when I am covered by the blood of His Son.
Ravi Zacharias tells a story of an Indian actor who just happened to be in a hotel when terrorists stormed the building. He and his friends were eating dinner when one of his friends pushed him under the table while the terrorists went through the restaurant shooting indiscriminately and spraying bullets as they walked. In telling the story, he was amazed that he survived. Remarkably, he was the only one at his table who lived!
The BBC journalist asked, how is it that you survived?
“The only thing I could figure,” he said, “was that I was so covered with someone else’s blood, that they took me for dead.”
Dear friends, this is the gospel. Because God put on flesh and became a man, He was able to satisfy God’s requirement for righteousness. His shed blood on the cross covers us when we believe what God says is true. It is a simple act of faith.
“For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins…but God prepared a body for His Son. After offering up His body as a sacrifice for our sins, He now sits at the right hand of God.” Why is this significant? Because it demonstrates that His sacrifice was accepted by God.
That’s why Jesus was able to say, “It is finished”…the work is done.
To those who want to be washed clean, He gives a promise. “Receive the LORD Jesus and believe His message, and you will be given power to become the children of God.” from John 1:12
As Billy would say, we are all sinners and have turned our backs on God. Repent…turn away from your sins and turn to God. Believe that Jesus Christ’s death on the cross is sufficient for your sins and that it is through His blood you are covered!!
I love my new jeans, but even better…I am so grateful for the tears of repentance that have led me to the cross. Now, I am covered by the blood, the precious blood of Jesus Christ!!
Bobbie Keith Coffee Break 