I don’t like being trendy. I am irritated that a local NBC news reporter and Miranda Lambert got my haircut this week. I feel absurd that my food allergy falls into the latest diet fad and has its own special isle at every Kroger. I took a face book quiz this week to find out what high school stereotype I was, and to my chagrin, I got “the normal kid”. (UGGGHHHHH!) We live in a society that gives labels to everyone and everything, and I don’t think anyone wants to be labeled as trendy or normal. We want to be seen as individual and special. I grew up in a family with 5 kids. The other 4 were labeled as the “pretty one”, the “smart one”, the athlete”, and the “talented one”. I was the “nice one”. I hated my label. I’m pretty sure my siblings hated their labels too. We all had gifts and loathed the pigeonhole of a 1 dimensional label.
About a decade ago, I had a conversation with one of my siblings about what God sees when He looks at us. In my vanity and foolishness, I told her that I was so glad that Jesus died for my sins and that God has clothed me with a robe of righteousness, but I really hoped that the robe would let my head stick out. I was glad that God saw Jesus when he looked at me, but I said that I feel pretty great about myself and I really wanted God to see ME too. Oh, what an idiot I was! As I have grown to love God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit more, I have seen that the best label for me without that robe is “Wicked”, “Gross”, and “Awful”. I recently hear D.A. Carson say, “There is no room for arrogance next to the cross.”
Today, I don’t want that beautiful white robe of righteousness to stop at my neck, but I wish it would cover my whole head, my whole…..everything, and the beautiful truth is that it does. God sees his beautiful son Jesus when He looks at me, because Jesus stands right there for me. I am labeled perfect and forgiven. God looks at me and because of Jesus, God says, “This is my kid. She is beautiful and I delight in her.” If you love Jesus, He says this about you too. We are dressed the same in a beautiful white robe of righteousness, and the only label that matters is that we are children of the King.
“After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.” Revelation 7:9 (NIV)
“Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” Psalm 16:1-2 (ESV)