Dressed for the Occasion — Scripture Reflection #037

Romans 13:12 (New Living Translation)

12 The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living. 

Jesus is coming back soon; we need to be dressed for the occasion. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we must remove our sinful habits like dirty rags and instead clothe ourselves in the shining armor of Christ. 

In Matthew 22, Jesus gives a parable of a wedding banquet in which a king invites many people to celebrate his son’s wedding. When those who were initially invited refused to come, the king extended the invitation to anyone else who wished to attend. On the day of the wedding, the king was pleased to see that the venue was filled with guests. However, the king then noticed one guest who was not wearing wedding clothes. When confronted about his inappropriate attire, the man could not justify himself; the king promptly had the man thrown out of the wedding celebrations. 

Friends, when we dress for the occasion — when we do what God has asked of us and allow ourselves to be led by the Holy Spirit — we can be assured that we will have the right wedding attire to match the occasion; we will be clothed in Christ. And only then will we get to enjoy the wedding celebration with the King and His Son, Jesus.

However, when we are not dressed for the occasion — when we do not do what God has asked of us — we can not pretend to have the right attire to match the occasion; we will look like we are wearing dirty rags to the wedding. God will remove us from enjoying the celebrations.

Today, let’s surrender our lives to God, ask the Holy Spirit to lead us, and clothe ourselves in Christ so we can be dressed for the occasion. Amen.