February 16, 2010 - Hebrews 1:10-12

"In the beginning, Lord, You founded the earth,
and the heavens are the work of Your hands;
they will perish, but You remain;
they will all wear out like clothing;
like a cloak You will roll them up,
and like clothing they will be changed.
But You are the same,
and Your years will never end."

The imagery in this passage speaks to me. Like clothing that has been worn at the knees, and the pockets falling off, and holes that can no longer be patched, we are rolled up and put away. Note that the passage does not say we are discarded, but that we are changed.

My father was one of the least prejudiced people I've ever known. He used to say that God was not pleased to be shunned when He was wearing His dark suits. I grew up with the inherent belief that God resides in us all; that each of us carries the divine spark within us. God does not change.

But we are mortal beings. We wear out. We tire out. We burn out. We are a suit that God puts on for a while, and when we have outlived our usefulness, perhaps, He takes us Home, but somehow I think not to simply hang in His closet, but instead to become a bright and shining Robe, fit for a King.

It is humbling to think that God would "wear" me. We have been told that the body is the temple of God, and that's a lovely thought, I suppose, but perhaps a little...oh, I don't know...airy fairy, not real. I mean, beleive me, I don't feel much like a temple most of the time. But when I think of myself as a piece of clothing that God wears for a while, it's as though I can feel Him inside me.

How do I "wear" God? Am I trying to keep him pristine and unsullied and clean? As a child, when I went out to play, my mother would say, "Now, don't you get that dress dirty!" Which pretty much meant that I couldn't do a darn thing except sit still and watch everybody else have fun. I was not useful in the slightest. I think God wants us to get His suit dirty. He wants us to be rolling about in the muck and the mud, helping people out of the mires we create for ourselves. he wants us to get holes in our jeans and patches in the elbows of our shirts doing the work He has created for us to do.

And when we have worn out, rusted out, tired out, He will roll us up, like we roll up clothes we pack in a suitcase, and take us Home, shake us out, and set us free. Praise the Lord!