May Christ Be Your Tailor

This quote is taken from Vally of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions:

O God of Grace,
Thou hast imputed my sin to my substitute,
and hast imputed his righteousness to my soul,
clothing me with a bridegrooms robe,
decking me with jewels of holiness.
but in my Christian walk I am still in rags...
I am always standing clothed in filthy garments,
and by grace am always receiving change of raiment,
for thou dost always justify the ungodly.
I am always going into the far country,
and always returning home as a prodigal,
always saying, "Father, forgive me,"
and thou art always bringing forth the best robe.
Every morning let me wear it,
every evening return in it,
go out to the days work in it,
be married in it,
be wound in death in it,
stand before the great white throne in it,
enter heaven in it shining as the sun.

I am often reminded, by my own doing, of the very real rags of sin with which I clothe myself. It is the outfit everyone sees. At times I'm able to patch it up enough that no one notices my outfit but me. But my outfit embarrasses me and, if I let it, categorizes me.
However, this is not the outfit God sees. While He is neither blind, nor foolish, nor ignorant, He has chosen to give a new look to all who trust in Christ as their substitute. He gives us the shirt off Christ's back, so to speak. We get Jesus' clothes. We are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. This is the outfit God sees. Christ is our tailor and, in him, we look good.
Consider these words from Hebrews 2:11, "Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers." That is what Jesus has done, and continues to do in us. He makes us holy, not by giving us a new list of activities to follow, but by cleansing us of the guilt and stain of sin and then clothing us in his righteousness. So, while we may be embarrassed by the clothing with which we dress ourselves, he is not ashamed to call us brothers because, as members of the same family, we share the same status. We wear the same clothes.
The apostle John understood the significance of this. In Revelation 7:9-14 he saw Jesus' brothers the way God sees them. He writes, "After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count...standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes...' Then one of the elders asked me, 'These in white robes-- who are they, and where did they come from?' I answered, 'Sir, you know.' And he said, 'These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore...he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.'" Jesus made them holy. His blood, not our blood (or sweat, or labor, or niceness) cleansed us from sin. So God is not ashamed to call us His children.
Next time you're ashamed of the rags of sin with which you clothe yourself, confess the truth of it but don't stop there. Let Jesus be your tailor; learn to see the clothes with which he has clothed you.