The critics are ruthless. After the 2011 Academy Awards, one critic said that it looked as though Nicole Kidman was wearing an "excessively-embroidered tablecloth." Marisa Tomei's gown, they said, was "reminiscent of a young girl's prom dress," and "as if one half is trying to escape from the other."
In God's eyes, the way we are "dressed" carries a different meaning. The Apostle Paul used the analogy of taking off old clothing, and putting on new: "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness" (Ephesians 4:22-24, NIV)
Isaiah 61:10 reads, "I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels."
So how are you dressed today? We’re not talking about whether you are wearing a coat and tie, or a dress instead of slacks. We're talking about the way you appear before Christ. Have you been clothed with "the garments of salvation"?
--Rocky Henriques, www.uticabc.com