Dress requirements can be very exacting. All graduates wore a cap and gown for my high school and college graduation ceremonies. The school administrators expected that in both places.
All the biologists wore Pennsylvania Fish Commission-issued uniforms when I worked for that organization. The Executive Director reprimanded me for not wearing the PFC hat while working in the field.
Gulf Oil required all employees to wear uniforms at the service plaza where I worked. We all dressed alike.
I have coached track and field throwing events at my local high school for the last twenty-six years. At track meets, athletes are required to wear school-issued uniforms.
At one meet one of my throwers did not have a school-issued top. The official wouldn’t allow him to compete without it. He switched tops with another athlete and was then permitted to participate.
Fashion changes—every year. I am far from its cutting edge. But I notice some changes.
When I started coaching, athletes were prohibited from wearing jewelry during competitions. That rule was changed. Jewelry is now permitted.
When I began pastoral ministry, male pastors wore suits on Sunday mornings as did many men who sat in the pews. In 2024, it is rare to see either pastors or parishioners wearing suits in my circle.
When I was a boy, women wore hats and dresses while attending church worship services. In 2024, most women wear neither hats nor dresses at church services in my denomination which has no dress code. Did you know that heaven has a dress code?
“‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how is it that you are here without wedding clothes?’ But the man had no reply” (Matthew 22:12 NLT). Jesus said it was a parable about the kingdom of heaven.
Those at the wedding were expected to wear appropriate wedding clothes. They didn’t meet God’s expectations. Their outfits didn’t qualify.
The good news is that God offers us appropriate clothes without cost. Edward Mote mentions these clothes in his hymn, “My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less.”
"When he shall come with trumpet sound, O may I then in him be found: dressed in his righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne.1
God makes us right with Him when we believe that Jesus took the punishment we deserve when He died on the cross in our place. He rose from the dead to demonstrate that God was satisfied with His sacrifice (Romans 3:21–31).
Like Abraham, our faith in Jesus is counted as righteousness (Romans 4:22–25). God credits Jesus’ moral perfection to us. We are right with God through Him (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Our sins were credited to Jesus and His righteousness to us. “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT).
Christ's righteousness is the only acceptable wedding garment. It is the fashion that is forever in style. Is that what you are wearing to the wedding? #freediscipleshipresources #freeevangelismresources #freechristianleadershipresources
See free spiritual growth resources for Christians at https://www.christiangrowthresources.com
God has empowered me to write “His Power for Your Weakness—260 Steps Toward Spiritual Strength.” It’s a free evangelistic, devotional, and discipleship eBook. Pastors have used it in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia to lead more than 2,400 people to Christ and teach the basics of Christianity to 6,707 people. I invite you to check it out. https://www.christiangrowthresources.com/his-power-for-your-weakness
Comments