Presentable

My date and I were decked out for the senior prom.  

During the afternoon, I spent hours washing and waxing our family’s brand-new, 5-speed, silver Ford Probe. It looked like a rocket ship and was sparkling like it just came off the showroom floor. 

Our school colors were red and white, and my date wore a red dress that perfectly matched the red. So… prepare yourself… I wore a white tux.  

Just picture it. Pure white tux with a matching red cummerbund and bowtie. Plus, long tails and white shoes.  

We were so excited to show up in style, wearing our school colors!  

A line of cars waited to turn into the parking lot, so one of the teachers directing traffic pointed me to a field where they had additional parking. I followed his directions only to see my buddy’s car get stuck in some mud. But it was too late. I was already in the mud! I tried to keep my momentum going but only made it a few more feet before getting stuck myself. 

Not only was there mud all over my sparkling clean car, but my date and I had to squish through mud to get to solid ground. 

We arrived at the prom, but we were hardly presentable.  It wasn’t just our clothes that were dirty; my attitude and mouth were less than presentable, too. 

Hebrews 10:22 says, “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”

This verse, and the paragraphs before it, emphasize how Jesus’ sufficient sacrifice has made us presentable to God.

From this position of justification before God, we are called to live out our sanctification, the ongoing, progressive experience of living the set-apart life that Christ secured for us.  

Growing up in church, I internalized the message that I had to behave, perform, and look good to be accepted by God and others. As a result, when I failed, I would beat myself up mentally and emotionally to stimulate myself to try harder to be better. The problem was that I was really bad at being good while depending on my own strength. 

I eventually realized I was trying to make myself presentable before approaching God for help. In essence, this was self-effort, and it kept me from relying on the only One who has the power to overcome my sin and failure. It is only through faith in Him that we are clean and presentable and can confidently approach Him!  

This truth radically impacted my life. I used to struggle with intense anger and depression. I felt stuck and regularly questioned my salvation, even while in seminary or sitting in my office as a pastor!  

But now, my emotions are predominantly peace, joy, and love. And the progress I’ve seen in overcoming sin and experiencing character development is far beyond what I could have imagined three decades ago.  

How did that growth (sanctification) come about? Here’s how it works in my life.  

When I am tempted to sin, or when I fail, I don’t try harder to get back on track. I preach the gospel to myself by reminding myself of who God is and what He has accomplished through the finished work of Christ. 

Then, I reiterate the truth of what God says about me now that I am in Christ. I am no longer one who uses people for selfish gain, needs to get my way to feel good about myself, or have the right answer so that I believe I measure up.  

Instead, I remind myself, I am a friend of God and an agent of reconciliation.  I am a child of God whose mission is to love others. I am clean and presentable because I have been justified and made holy by the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, my Savior and Lord.  

Then, I “draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith” (Heb. 10:22) and confess my struggles to my loving Father. I ask for wisdom and strength to live the holy life He has secured for me. And then I take the responsibility to walk in obedience based on His strengthening ability. 

Dear Saints, the world says we must perform and appear a certain way to be presentable. But it is only in Christ that we are presentable to the Father.  At my prom, I had to pay a friend to pull my car out of the mud, and then work hard to get myself and the car cleaned up. As a believer, it is only through the payment and finished work of Christ that we become ‘cleaned up’ and presentable! Through faith in Christ and His work, each one of us may draw near to God with a totally clear conscience.