Righteous robe!

Zechariah 3:4
Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.”

Have you ever made a “to-do” list?  I know that I have.  First I stop and think about all of the things that need to be done.  Then I write them down.  After I write them down, I look them over and typically become overwhelmed by the amount of work that I’ve just given myself.  

As I go through my day I continually check things off of my list.  Vacuuming: done.  Mow the lawn: done.  Wash the dog: done.  And so it goes throughout the day: I work, I check off, I work, I check off.  Every once in awhile I’ll complete my list, but for the most part, I don’t get everything done. I nearly always run out of day before the list is complete.  So I get to go to bed with the knowledge that tomorrow’s list already has things on it, and tomorrow hasn’t even started yet!

All too often we put this list mentality into our Christian living.  We make a list of “to-do’s” for the day and we get to work on it, continually striving to achieve completeness by completing a list of tasks.  

I’m not sure what’s on your list, but maybe some of the following items appear there daily: stop swearing, no pornography, no drugs, no alcohol, love my wife, respect my husband, don’t exasperate my children, read my Bible, pray, confess, confess again, confess some more.  If this sounds like you, know that you’re not alone!  

Working on your list isn’t what makes you righteous or complete as far as God is concerned.  There is an enemy who wants you to believe that you’re never good enough, but God wants you to know that He’s made you good enough.  It’s not by your works or deeds, your successes or failures, but only by the grace offered through Jesus Christ.  

God wants you to know that, because of Jesus, He has removed your iniquity and replaced it with Christ’s righteousness.  There is nothing that you need to do, no list to try to accomplish, that will give you the peace that comes from knowing Jesus has already done it all for you!

Christ became our sin so that we could become His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21).  God has ordered your sin and your unrighteousness to be removed because of the blood of Jesus Christ.  In return, He has given you His robe of righteousness, His blessings, His forgiveness, His completeness.  There is nothing for you to do but accept the gift and live in His grace!