Growing up, my mom used to dress my sister and I as if we were twins. Although, we were two years apart, this continued all through our elementary years of school. My brother was exempt from this being the only male sibling. I guess this was moms way of showing us that she loved all of us equally and there was not going to be any divisiveness in our home with her children. The apostle Peter, gives us some wise biblical fashion sense. “All of you clothe yourselves with humility towards one another.”(I Peter 5:5)
In the beginning of Genesis 37, we are introduced to one of Jacob’s twelve sons, Joseph. In this chapter, we also learn that Joseph father Jacob, gives him a new coat/cloak. Everyone had a cloak in those days. They were used to keep you warm, wrap up your child and in some cases it was used as collateral for a loan. The text goes on to tell us that this was not some ordinary coat. This coat had stripes that were very colorful. Joseph other brothers became very agitated. I believe they were not so angry about the coat, but how Joseph wore the coat. The coat that Joseph put on that day was a coat of favoritism.
Jesus was born wearing the right clothing. In the Gospel of Luke 2:7 says, “And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger.” Swaddling clothes were strips of cloths used to keep a baby warm and feel a sense of security. Joseph coat was made of different hues of stripes. Each color on that robe in the eyes of his brothers was a symbol of favoritism, pride and boastfulness.
Jesus, God’s only begotten Son was wrapped in strips of clothing. Each strip was a symbol of Humility, Obedient, Patient, Giving, Forgiving, Faithfulness and Prayerfulness.
What are you choosing to wear today?
Serving the Lord with Gladness,
Deacon Terri McFarlane
servingthelordwithgladness 