The Only Shirt I Wear

I have a closet full of shirts. Jessica tells me that I have more shirts than any other man on the planet. This can’t be true, but I do have a lot of shirts. I wear one shirt a day (sometimes two), and I never wear the same shirt more than once in a week. However, I have learned that there are some shirts that I simply do not wear. I like these shirts enough to keep them in my closet, but I don’t value them enough to actually wear them. If you were to appeal to my emotions, I would tell you that I need these extra shirts “just in case.” If you were to address the issue from a logical one, I would say that these shirts “cost me money” and thus “I should keep them.” Still, the fact remains that I am only wearing a few shirts in my closet and then leaving the rest to collect dust. Simple observation of my clothing shows that all of the important and used shirts sit on the outside of my closet, while the unused ones are pushed deep inside, not to be touched. Amazingly, this system is seen in other parts of my life as well. There are books in my office that collect dust and others that are constantly used. Likewise, certain songs on my ipod enjoy frequent play time, while others are neglected and ignored. Life is just this way.

As I think about God, I remember that he is the only one who truly matters. He has called me to love him with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength. He reminds me to honor him and keep him as holy within me. God challenges me to conform to his likeness and obey his precepts. And yet, sometimes God is much like a shirt hanging in my closet. I know he is there, know he is important, but fail to “put him on.” Ask anyone if I need him and I’ll say, “you bet!” Try to get me to replace him and I’ll tell you “he’s valuable to me.” Still, it’s easy to shove God into the back of the closet and make everything else more important. “God will always be there when I need him.”

The fact is, God hasn’t called me to turn to him just when I need him. Likewise, God doesn’t take a back seat to others. God is the only one that matters. He is my entire wardrobe! He is my everything! One day, I will arrive in Heaven, exposed to my maker. Without anyone or anything else at my side, I will address the creator of Heaven and Earth. On that day, my closet will be empty. On that day, all I will have to show for this life is my relationship with God. Am I clothed with him, or am I naked? Standing exposed, I pray that my covering will be found in him. Standing exposed, I hope that I will have learned that he is all I truly have. Yes, my closet has many shirts, but I have only one God. So, I put him on today. I put God on, knowing that a time will come when he will be all that is left. On that day he will continue to cover me, as I have allowed him to do so up unto that point. This is my prayer, that God would be the only shirt I wear.

- thanks to Nathan Golightly for the illustration idea