Righteousness

Righteousness

We are all infected and impure with sin. When we proudly display our righteous deeds, we find they are but filthy rags.

Isaiah 64:6

How do you use rags in your house? I keep a few small rags underneath my kitchen sink for polishing silver pieces. I store others in the bathroom closet and use them for cleaning floors.

If I was trying to come up with an image for righteous deeds, I might have said, “Righteous deeds look like a pure white linen tablecloth,” or “Righteous deeds look like crystal clear water flowing from a stream.” But when God, through Isaiah, described our “righteous deeds,” he said that they look like filthy rags. Yuck!

Isaiah’s ugly picture of rags is not intended to make us despair. The name Isaiah means “the salvation of Jehovah.” The prophet Isaiah was sent to the nation of Judah to expose the people’s sin and explain that God’s salvation would come through the Messiah. He wanted them to see that no amount of clean living or good deeds was enough to save them from God’s wrath over sin, but that God’s righteousness comes to our hearts when we humbly repent of our sin and trust in him for salvation.

The fairy-tale character Cinderella wouldn’t have had a lovely gown to wear to the ball if her fairy godmother hadn’t stepped in to help. Up until that point, all Cinderella owned were raggedy clothes. We’re a bit like Cinderella in that sense. Whether we’re kids or adults, God tells us that our best efforts are like rags. But Christ has provided us with snow-white garments of his righteousness. It’s totally a gift of his grace.

Righteous Father,

We have no clue how far short of your righteousness we come. Thank you that having a relationship with you depends on our faith in Jesus’ death and not on our good works. In Jesus’ name, amen.