VESTMENTS FOREVER

The robes of calling may fray and fade from years of use, but they are never truly discarded. It doesn't mean some don't try to toss them away.

We don't always seem to want to keep wearing them though. They can get so heavy after awhile. But the problem is that when the come from the Lord they can't be treated like some old clothes you send off to the thrift store when you buy new ones.

The problem is that if God gives us the garment it fits as he wills. That doesn't mean it will like we want it to look. Or they serve the purpose we want.

Of course the vestments for the office of pastor always sparkle in many people's eyes. So naturally possessing them is a source of joy.

But like all of God's vestments they are his decision on who gets to wear them. Sometimes people will get so desperate for them, they will sew together their own version. Oh it can be so dazzling, just not from the Lord.

And when it isn't the person can still claim the title of pastor if he or she finds a place to serve in that capacity. On the surface it can all look so correct and proper.

The person can even learn to say the right things and do the right things, but unless God's spirit has someone created the threads it just doesn't come from the Lord. No matter how long it lasts, if the threads don't come from God, they will unravel.

On the converse side for the person who is so adorn by the Lord's garment, it always is part of his or her life. Maybe the person isn't always faithful, but it is part of the wardrobe just the same.

Now maybe the need for the vestment doesn't always end up being used as we think it should. For God isn't limited to a house of worship for his vestments.

It is just for those truly adorned, there is no real retirement. And in due season when one is before the Lord he blesses us with a robe that will last for all eternity.

This is not a literal robe though as much as the covering from his light and love. It does symbolize I think how we truly belong to him.

Those who resist his vestments in this life will hardly be happy to accept them in eternity. So at times we face the choice in this life. If we accept the one made for us by the Lord how better the day becomes.

But if we simply slip the garment into a closet in our mind, we never get the joy of what comes afterwards. There truly is nothing sadder than feeling uncomfortable because we preferred one color or appearance of a garment and got a different one. Faith in God includes trust to him for the perfect fit.