{#TellHisStory} Jesus’ Dirty Shirt

This is a revamped version of a post from April 13, 2009. It’s Easter week and we’re going to see this performance again this weekend. The 23-month-old girl in the original post is now just a little more than a month from turning 6 and she has a 3-year-old brother. 

“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.”

{1 John 1:5-10}

I should mention the program was 2 1/2 hours long. That’s well beyond a toddler’s typical attention span. We sat on the aisle, thinking we may have to get up and walking around with her; we never did.

What she kept talking about afterward was Jesus. And how he had a “dirty shirt.”

Yes, his shirt was dirty after he was beaten and taken to be crucified. I guess even for a 23-month-old girl that was a stark contrast to the bright, white clothing he wore before that. Even after he rose from the dead, complete with a clean shirt, Cate still talked about Jesus and his dirty shirt.

I tried to tell her that when Jesus came back he was wearing a clean shirt. She would think about it for a minute, repeat “clean,” then go back to the “dirty shirt.” Truthfully, it’s pretty neat to hear her sweet voice say, “Jesus,” regardless of what he’s wearing.

But, you know, I’m thankful he wore a dirty shirt for me. And you. And Cate. And Ben.

Bearing our sins did indeed dirty his shirt, but he did it so we could wear bright, white clothes. And he rose from the filth, this time wearing his clean clothes, so he could rejoin his Father and prepare a place for us. I’m certain he’s preparing a beautiful place where everything, even our shirts, will be cleaner than anything we can imagine.

For now, we still live in an imperfect world where we have plenty of chances to confess our sins to the only who can truly take away the sins of the world. As sweet as it was to hear Cate talk about Jesus, I’m looking forward to the day she understands the rest of the story and realizes the his dirty shirt was so very temporary.