God's in the business of clothing the neglected and unexpected in royal robes.
I recently read the above quote in one of our Advent Celebration days and it completely sums up a lot of thoughts I've had lately in how great God is in extending His grace to us who have done nothing to deserve it.
A story that I think on constantly is found in Acts 3 where Peter heals the lame beggar who is daily carried and sat in front of Beautiful Gate. Peter’s response to the man’s plea for money was, “silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” Same as in all the healings Jesus preformed, it was a miracle that he stood up and began walking and leaping, praising God while doing so. The thing that I find myself thinking about though is verse 9 and 10 where it says, “All the people saw him walking and praising God. Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.”
Sitting at the gate is what he was known for. He was lame from birth and everyday he sat there to beg. He was a monument at the gate to the temple courts that everyone knew they would walk by to get inside. His presence was a daily fixture to the gate and all who knew the area at all knew him. That’s why verse 9 and 10 are so important! His healing was a big deal to the community and to all their unbelieving hearts. In the beginning of Acts it is all about the Spirit’s power through the people- and here is proof of the Spirit’s presence in their lives. No one could deny that the beggar was healed so they had to consider that it was Jesus’ work through humans themselves.
When thinking about this story I think about all the influential people around my area of Kathmandu, that I daily see, who would make a huge difference in unbelievers lives if they were to come to Christ; People who are fixtures to the community and known for something specific. An individual that comes to mind is a Buddhist nun that sits on the side of the stupa each morning and evening. She is said to be over 100 years old. She daily gives blessings to all people who come to her and she is looked up to by the Buddhist community because of her high position, age and devotion to her religion. Think of the impact a nun, of her age, that people look up to would have if she was transformed into a Christ follower! Think about the confusion and wonder that other Buddhists would have as well as interest and curiosity in what she now believes. I desire for this woman to know the Lord not only because of the influence on other Buddhist people’s lives she would have, but for her own life! She would no longer have to work for her salvation. She could then find her many good deeds worthless in view of eternity and instead rest in her new belief of Jesus as Lord, the only possible way to heaven!
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Another person that comes to mind from that story is my friend Rinku. He is an Indian man living in Nepal who was born lame. He sits each day shining shoes to provide for his blind wife and sweet six month old baby, who is without defect. Although people in the community don’t know Rinku like they do the nun, he can be seen every day sitting in the same exact spot working on shoes. My heart breaks for him because I see his hard work and sweet spirit and I desire for him to have understanding of God’s grace. The other day I was sitting and chatting with him and decided to have him clean my shoes, still dirty from monsoon season. As he was busy working away I was hit hard with emotions. I was holding back tears thinking about how much I desire for him to know the Lord. His happy-go-lucky spirit would be turned into unshakable joy that resides in the truth of Jesus Christ! He would have hope past his humble living, in day-to-day reliance of cleaning and repairing shoes, to instead eternal life in heaven. What brought me to tears, though, was thinking about the Acts 3 passage of the man in front of Beautiful Gate, who was once lame and then healed. This could be Rinku, he could one day be given a new body and be able to praise God by standing up and walking or jumping. As I began to picture this sight in heaven I pictured his wife there also- her first sight ever the face of Jesus! His salvation and transformation of heart on this earth would affect people for the gospel’s cause just as the lame beggar whose body was healed.
“Strengthen the weak hands,
and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are fearful-hearted, ‘Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you.’ Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing.”
Isaiah 35:3-5
I am so humbled in thinking about how through Christ, after death, we are given unending life. It’s humbling also to think that nothing from our Earthly bodies will be with us, we will be made new! Rinku and his wife would be without defect and would have no worries or cares (Philippians 3:20-21). The old nun who has spent her life working for deliverance from this sinful life would truly be set free and made pure (1 John 3:2-3). Something I am learning though is… yes these people’s salvation would be a miracle, the nun and the Hindu man, I pray for that, but their salvation would be no more of a miracle than my own salvation. I was saved by my faith in God’s grace and it is the Spirit that miraculously brings me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, and He sets my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm (Psalms 40:2). The sin I’ve left behind, and battle with now, is conquered in Christ and by His Spirit. That same Spirit that has brought me out of the pit can also bring out any person of any situation!
I am finding out more and more everyday how thankful I am that salvation is not based on doing good or having right morals. I’m thankful that it is the Spirit that gives life and releases the hold of my deserved death because of sin (Romans 8:1-2). The beginning quote, "God's in the business of clothing the neglected and unexpected in royal robes" is not just talking about those who have a hard time on this earth because of their physical needs or financial needs… To me it refers to all of the creation that has been chosen to bow down to the Lord in obedience! We are all undeserving of any royal robe.
My last thought in continuing with the thinking of “royal robes” is about how heaven is something that can never be imagined or understood through our earthly eyes. When thinking on my hope of Rinku’s salvation I begin to think of what his eyes would think of heaven. Like I said he would no longer have earthly pain, but something else that is mind-blowing is that in comparison to all the things that he has seen on this Earth, heaven would be magnificent, something he could never dream up or imagine because he has never seen nice things or lived in a home with walls other than tarp. Thinking on this I began to ponder what it would be like if the richest man in the world, who lived in a mansion on this earth and ate fancy dinners with expensive china, was a believer, what would his eyes think of heaven? This thought is new to me- I’ve never considered how for him it would be unimaginable. But it would, I have no doubt in my mind that the glory of God in heaven he would see would be the same amount of astonishing and mind-blowing that Rinku would experience! I don’t know what to expect in heaven because I have earthly eyes, but I know that the new life and royal robe that those who enter heaven will experience is something undreamed-of!
“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.
For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.
For in this hope we are saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”
Romans 8:18-25
