Clothed in Glory
by Murray Dixon
We were so inspired by our visit to Keukenhof Garden. No wonder it is described as ‘The Garden of Europe’ and even ‘the largest flower garden in the world.’ The dazzling kaleidoscope of colour and brilliance surpasses anything I’ve ever seen. Carpets of tulips – red, pink, mauve, yellow, orange, blue, all the hues of the rainbow - as far as the eye could see. The myriads of golden daffodils gently bowing their heads in the spring breeze added to the wonder.
Then there were the close-ups. The intricate detail of each blossom: the veins in the petals, the frilly trumpets and the plain, the fluted tulips and the striped, the tall ones and the short. Each displaying its uniqueness. A thought crossed my mind, ‘Of course Solomon could never have matched these beauties.’ Then another thought, ‘God has clothed each one of these hundreds of thousands of specimens individually.’ Then came the question, ‘How did each flower know how to be different from its neighbour?’ I’m still stumped by that one.
But what precisely did Jesus mean? That we shouldn’t care how we dress? He obviously didn’t care for fig-leaf suits. Did He mean we don’t need to get carried away with the latest fashion? He`s obviously very focussed upon clothing since it`s mentioned nearly three hundred times in the Bible. Yet when He speaks of clothing His terms are not those used in fashion magazines.
Jesus is teaching us that God clothes us with garments that will last – for eternity! When you chose to accept Jesus as your Saviour and Lord you joined His Bride, then He clothed you with the garment of salvation and the robe of righteousness, the marriage garments (Isaiah 61:10). Remember the man thrown out of the marriage banquet – he wasn’t wearing the marriage garment (Matthew 22:11-13). The wife of noble character is clothed in strength and dignity (Proverbs 31:21-22). God has a preference for white clothing: for righteousness (Revelation 3:5, 18; 6:11).
If you are planning to have eternity with our Lord Jesus Christ, our Father and the Holy Spirit you`re invited to the marriage banquet of the Lamb, and each of us is instructed to make ourselves ready for that unimaginably joyous occasion – fine linen, bright and clean is to be given to each member of the Bride for the occasion (Revelation 19:6-8).
The prized and ultimate garment that you and I can be wearing – a must for eternity – clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul tells us that we do that by being baptized into the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 13:14; Galatians 3:27).
Murray Dixon has a school teacher background prior to being ordained in the NZ Anglican Church. He served as a parish minister, then as a padre in the RNZAF before pioneering Prayer for Israel in NZ with his wife Rosemary. In 1999 they participated in the Nine Week School at Glyndley Manor –a life changing experience – before moving to Israel where they served on Mt Carmel, in Migdal (Mary Magdalene’s town) and then in Jerusalem with a heart to see Ellel established in Israel. Today they serve on the Pierrepont team.
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