“God has handed
me over to sinners. He has tossed me
into the hands of the wicked. I was
living quietly until he shattered me. He
took me by the nick and broke me in pieces.”
(Job 16:11-12 NLT)
What’s in your closet? My closet contains shirts, sweaters, coats,
shoes, blankets, quilts, luggage, and an assortment of puzzles and games. Out of all the “stuff” that inhabits my
closet, not one single item is made from a single piece of material. Every item is fashioned either from bits and pieces of fabric, leather,
vinyl, or other materials.
My wife, Elaine, is an excellent
quilter. Every one of her quilts is a
collage of bits and pieces of fabric sewn together with random seams. I don’t have a single item in my closet that
is seamless and flawless. If a close
inspection is made each item will reveal some kind of flaw. None of them are perfect.
What is true of garments can also be
applied to our lives as well. None of us
can claim to be seamless and perfect. We
are a collection of bits and pieces –
broken relationships, shattered dreams, unfulfilled promises, dashed hopes, and
sinful practices.
Jesus faced his share of trials and
difficulties: brothers who denied his deity, religious leaders who accused him
of blasphemy and plotted against him, one of his chosen disciples who betrayed
him, and one who denied that he even knew him, while the rest ran away in a
blatant act of desertion. Yet, like us,
Jesus took the bits and pieces of
their lives and fashioned them into a worthy garment. We are Jesus’ “Opus!”
The only perfect seamless garment
ever made was worn by Jesus: “Then the
soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his outer garments and made four
parts, a part to every soldier and also the tunic; now the tunic was seamless,
woven in one piece.” (John 19:23
NASB) This seamless garment was
symbolic of his life – a life lived with perfection, a life uncomplicated by
sin, a life void of bad choices, a life without broken dreams, and a life that
was well pleasing to the Father.
This same Jesus is busy shaping the bits and pieces of our lives into a
beautiful, seamless image of him that the Bible says he will keep from
stumbling, and present in his glory faultless with great joy. (Jude 24)
Jesus is the master tailor who is
fashioning the garment we call “You.”
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