What do we wear to church? Well, for both men and women, God wants us to wear holiness and peace to church. God wants us to take off the anger and disputing and put on the good deeds of love for one another. Those are the clothes that matter, not the fancy clothes we sometimes wear on the outside, but the attitudes we show which come from the inside.
Many years ago, an evangelist by the name of Jakov arrived at a village in Serbia. He met an elderly man there named Cimmerman, and Jakov began to talk to him of the love of Christ. Cimmerman abruptly interrupted Jakov and told him that he wished to have nothing to do with Christianity. He reminded Jakov of the dreadful history of the church in his town, where church leaders had plundered, exploited, and killed innocent people.
“My own nephew was killed by them,” he said, and angrily rejected any effort on Jakov’s part to talk about Christ. He told Jakov, “They wear those elaborate coats and crosses, but their evil designs and lives I cannot ignore.”
Jakov replied, “Cimmerman, can I ask you a question? Suppose I were to steal your coat, put it on, and break into a bank. Suppose further that the police sighted me running in the distance but could not catch up with me. One clue, however, put them onto your track: they recognize your coat. What would you say to them if they came to your house and accused you of breaking into the bank?”
“I would deny it,” said Cimmerman. And Jakov countered, “‘Ah, but we saw your coat,’ they would say.” But the analogy annoyed Cimmerman, and he ordered Jakov to leave his home.
Even so, Jakov continued to return to the village periodically just to befriend Cimmerman, encourage him, and share the love of Christ with him. Finally one day Cimmerman asked, “How does one become a Christian?”
Jakov taught him the simple steps of putting his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and Cimmerman got down on his knees and surrendered his life to Christ. As he rose to his feet, wiping his tears, he embraced Jakov and said, “Thank you for being in my life.” And then he pointed to the heavens and whispered, “You wear His coat very well.”
My friends, let’s wear His coat well wherever we are. (C. PHILIP GREEN)