Rick Odden

Do you know that feeling when you wake up on a Saturday morning and you put on your favorite pair of jeans and shirt? There’s a comfortable, familiar feeling of the material, even the smell. They fit perfectly.

There’s something about comfy clothes that relaxes me and puts me at ease. Perhaps it’s because I made the choice to put them on, knowing how good they feel.

When I think of this kind of comfort, I can’t help but think about my relationship with Christ. Do I have the same joyful feeling? Am I at ease with Christ? Do I feel a touch of his closeness and comfort?

What I do know is that it’s a different kind of clothing. It’s being clothed in righteousness. “I put on righteousness, and it clothed me.” Job 29:14 KJV

I choose what I wear each day.  In similar fashion, I have to choose to walk in righteousness, which is living right by God’s standards.

Remember, in order for the pair of jeans and shirt to become comfortable, it means we have to wear them for many days. They need to be cleaned. They need to get a bit worn in and the more they do, the better they fit and feel. It’s what our daily relationship with Christ should look. Fresh, new, and comfortable.

What about you? Does your relationship with Jesus feel comfortable and relaxed or more like a heavy, raw wool sweater that’s itchy, clingy, and scratchy?

Do you fidget restlessly? Are you  quick to discard Jesus the way you would a nasty sweater? It’s not only noticeable to you, but others see that there’s something antsy and restless about your behavior?

There are verses in the Bible that make me think of this analogy. I love the rich history in the Old Testament. The lessons we learn about God’s love, his gentleness, patience, and forgiveness are a comfort to my spirit and soul.

I often wonder about the time frame of history that is covered in the book of Genesis. When I read through the first three chapters, I don’t get a sense that Adam and Eve grew old. The earth was perfect and time had no meaning. In the literal sense, Adam and Eve walked in God’s presence and communed with him on a daily basis. How awesome that must have been. Genesis 1:28-30

Then we come to chapter three and the world and time changed forever. Satan enters and Adam and Eve willing relinquish to him the dominion over the world that God had given to them. Sin becomes a barrier between man and God.

Ashamed of their sin, Adam and Eve hid in the garden as though God was no longer in the garden. Like hide-in-seek, they didn’t want God to find them. They thought they were running from God’s presence.

Adam and Eve knew instantly what they did wrong because they had just eaten from the tree of knowledge. They received knowledge of something they had never thought of before. They had been satisfied with their relationship with Christ, but then they sought something they had never experienced from something God said was forbidden

Genesis 3:9 states that God “walked through the garden in the cool of the day.” When the Lord God called to man, he asked, “Where are you?”

It is shocking to me that they didn’t want to be seen when just one day before they walked with God through the garden. I can picture the three of them having shared a meal, laughed, and enjoyed time in fellowship. They were with their best friend and up to this point, it was an open and honest relationship. And now, “where are you,” God asked?

I chuckle at this scene. Why did God ask the question? Do you really think he didn’t know their exact location?

I believe one reason is because God knew Adam and Eve had made a grave mistake. He knew they were embarrassed and ashamed of their actions. He knew just 24 hours ago they were feeing worthy and a day later they felt unworthy of God’s love and presence.

I also believe one of the reasons for the question was God wanted to know where they stood in their relationship with him. God was concerned. He knew sin was now part of the world and man’s relationship to God would be changed for thousands of years.

God knew their journey would be one of pain and heartache. He was reaching out to them even though they weren’t reaching out to him. He knew they needed him.

When we have an intimate friendship with God, we know what God expects of us. We tend to have an immediate sense that we have wronged ourselves, others, and God.

How often do we hear God say to us, “where are you?” He wants to know where we are in our relationship with him. If we have a “jeans and shirt” attitude, we remain comfortable in our relationship with God. We willingly walk in the garden with him.

When we have a day we aren’t walking in righteousness, we can be honest. and have an open dialog with him. We have confidence to go to him instead of running . We willing and unashamedly walk with him.

Or, do you act like Adam and Eve and remove yourselves from God’s presence? You no longer find joy walking in the garden with God?

We can't remove ourselves from God's presence! When we get uncomfortable with God, we don’t have to run. We can let him help us shed our feelings of discomfort and shame. We can see and feel his presence.

One question I get asked is, “how do I get to that comfort level?” Like those comfortable jeans, I “put on” Jesus. Putting on God is through prayer and reading the Word. Daily choosing to “wear” him like a watch.

We have to choose to take off the itchy, scratchy clothes. We don’t need to walk around with a raw, wool, fidgety relationship with God. We need to be purposeful to “wear” and walk in Jesus jeans. It is then we'll be Jesus in jeans.

May all of our eyes and hearts be open and recognize what we did wrong so that we can get back to that comfortable relationship with Christ. If you commit to reading your Bible and praying, you’ll experience days having a “meal” with God. Christ, the bread of life. John 6:25-59

Let God be the one to hide you in his presence. “Keep your eye on me; hide me under your cool wing feathers.” Psalm 17:8 MSG

Why be Jesus in Jeans:

"Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.” These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.

This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living. Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires." Romans 13:11-14