MY FAVORITE RED SHIRT

by Tammy Phillips
September 7, 2021

“Unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood, 6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him [be] glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” (Revelation 1:5-6 KJV)

I have a red shirt that I purchased a couple of years ago when we were out of town watching Parker, my youngest son play baseball.  I bought it while shopping with my mom and my husband.   It was, and is my favorite red shirt.  I wear it all the time.  I wore it to a fourth of July celebration this year.  Some fireworks went rogue.  We were probably sitting too close.  Unbeknown to me, and only realized when we got home, some embers slightly burned my shirt.  I was bummed.  As I said before,  it was my favorite.  I was not willing to just throw it away.  I could have bought another, but it would not be my beloved red shirt.  I tried to clean it.  I tried to scrub it and made two tiny holes in it.  Nothing worked.  Finally, I decided to cover it.  I washed it in different color.  Actually, I took a sharpie and drew my logo over it.  I took something I loved that had been burned, ruined, scarred and I created something even more beautiful.

This is exactly what Jesus did .  He loved us first.  He loved us at the cross.  He loved our burned, ruined, scarred, filthy sinner selves, first.  He loved us where we were, where we are and where we will be.    It is who God is.  His ineffable name is Yahweh, He who was, He who is to come.   He loved us first in our sin, then He chose to wash us from all our sins, burns, and scars in His precious blood.  He cleansed us and made us white as snow.

“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” (Isaiah 1:18 KJV)

The LORD was with us and loved us in our past.  He is with us  and loves us now, and He will always be with us and love us, if  we are with Him.  He will take our lives and create something more beautiful with His washing. 

I enCOURAGE you to know how very much Jesus loved you. Do not look at your past, nor current situations to determine how worthy you are to be loved by Jesus.  Look to the cross to see how much He loved you.  Like my favored red shirt, He willingly gave His life blood to wash your past, present and future sins.  He loved you and washed you.  So put Him on and walk worthy of your call.  You are His favorite “red shirt” that now looks perfectly white as snow in His eyes.  He was, is and will always be faithful.

 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9 KJV)