Travis Lamb, Pastoral Staff–Intern
“For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.” –2 Corinthians 5:4
“Why do we have to dress up for church?” As a father of three, I’ve heard this question repeated no matter how many times I’ve answered it. And although the nuclear option of “Because I said so,” has been uttered in a time crunch, the reality conveyed by the clothes we wear speaks louder than I naturally care to admit. Anyone who knows me is aware that, left to my own devices, I wear the same five shirts with the same two pairs of pants that are haphazardly snatched off a pile. My socks don’t even match half the time. But Sunday worship is not about my natural tendencies, but the foretaste of my glorified state.
When we come to worship the risen King, we only come accepted through Jesus Christ, clothed not in our own merit, but in His perfect obedience. Scripture says believers are covered with “the garments of salvation” and “the robe of righteousness” (Isaiah 61:10). We are told to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 13:14), for in Him we are made fit to enter God’s presence. This deeper meaning gives a special weight to what I physically cover myself with for corporate worship. Sunday is a weekly rehearsal for heaven. The gathered church is a foretaste of the coming kingdom, where the saints stand before the throne “clothed in white robes” (Revelation 7:9), their garments washed clean in the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 7:14). The bride of Christ will one day be arrayed in “fine linen, bright and pure” (Revelation 19:8).
To dress thoughtfully for worship, then, isn’t vanity of peacocks showing off for one another, nor do I honestly find the reasoning of bringing my best to God to win the day, though all those who reason thus arrive at the same outcome in fashion as I. No, we are, in a small outward way, preaching the value of the clothing with which we are clothed spiritually through Jesus Christ, and preparing to meet with God among His people. And even in getting dressed, I can do this in heavenly hope because of the robe and crown that is to come for all who have even now “put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27).
