(Friends: this is a repeat
that I feel illustrates the point we considered yesterday regarding God
coordinating together our yesterdays for good to those who love Him.)
"Bring forth the best robe,
and put it on him" (Luke 15:22).
Who is blessed with “the
best robe?"
Is it the Lord Jesus
Christ upon His triumphant return to Heaven, after He victoriously trampled sin,
hell, and the grave under His nail-scarred feet? Might it be David upon his
coronation as the king of Israel? Or, could it refer to an overcoming saint
finally reaching glory after living an earthly lifetime of faith, obedience, and
sacrifice for God and others?
While the Lord Jesus,
David, and the godly believer seem likely candidates for such Biblical
affirmation, the truth is that they are not the subjects of this blessing. No,
the best robe in this passage graces one who expected nothing of the sort, and
who would seem unworthy for such exalted garb.
"And he went and joined
himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed
swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did
eat: and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many
hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with
hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have
sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy
son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father.
But when he was yet a great way
off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and
kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and
in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants,
Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and
shoes on his feet: and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us
eat, and be merry: for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost,
and is found" (Luke 15:15-24).
We have all sinned against
our Father and wasted His inheritance to the degree that we most appropriately
wear the odor of swine. If we have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, however,
God bestows the best robe upon us. He enrobes us with our Savior's
righteousness and remembers no more our rejection of Him. Our Heavenly Father looks upon us and
sees the robe, the best robe. Forever thereafter He relates to us as
the loving Father of sons and daughters who were dead, and are alive again, who
were lost, and are found.
Such grace presently
motivates our loving response of faith and a life lived for the glory of the
Lord Jesus. Upon our arrival in
Heaven, the extent of our Lord's redemption will bless us in even greater
awareness and appreciation. The realization will take our breath away, and we
will feel that we cannot bow low enough to exalt the Author and Finisher of our
salvation. This will be true. However, we will also hear our Father's
command that we stand so that the universe can view the Blood-washed garment of
righteousness we wear. The glory of
the Lord Jesus will shine forth from us in a splendor heretofore unknown, and
the display of grace will begin that requires an eternity to
fulfill...
"But
God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when
we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are
saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly
places in Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding
riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ
Jesus."
(Ephesians
2:4-7)
No comments:
Post a Comment