June 24

So the angel said to those standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes!” Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have removed your iniquity, and I will clothe you with splendid robes.” — Zech 3:4 BSB

For Paul, every aspect of the Christian life was simply the grace of Jesus Christ imparted to him and lived out through him. To Paul, holiness meant "putting on the Lord Jesus"—wearing all the garments of Christ's perfect righteousness, which he so often describes in his beautiful epistles. He tells the Colossians, "Put on, therefore, as the chosen of God, holy and beloved, tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, and above all these, put on love, which is the bond of perfection." None of these qualities are intrinsic to us; they are graces imparted to us from the hand of Jesus. Even in the later years of his life, after over twenty-five years of mature experience, we hear Paul say, "I count all things as loss for the excellency of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him."

Lord, enable us today to go out, clothed in Your robes of perfect righteousness, with our hearts aligned with Your perfect love.