This past Sunday, local churches around the country were blessed with full congregations! So many people came to church, even those who don’t normally go except on Christmas or Easter. But Easter is unique. Each year thousands of people go to the mall and buy a new suit or a new dress; or they wait their turn at the dry cleaners hoping to get their best dress or best suit back in time to wear it to church on Easter Sunday morning.
Easter Sunday’s Best Dressed
There are countless reasons why we do this in America and everyone has their own reason. But here’s a few that stood out to me:
- Sitting in an uncomfortable environment for an hour once a year is a small price to pay for the excuse to buy fancy new clothes
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- It is also a small price to pay for political, corporate, or social recognition (especially when your clothes are such that people cannot help but notice you).
- Unreligious members of the community, or irregular church attenders, break out in a “religious sweat” twice a year as part of their traditions or religious obligations to their conscience.
- People like to show off their nice clothes, or their gorgeous kids, as a symbol of financial, or social, status.
These are just a few reasons that are common among church goers on Easter Sunday.
Jesus is the Reason for the Season
But think about this: If you were going to the Whitehouse to meet a President of the United States in a one-on-one meeting how should you dress? Why should you dress like that?
So, why should we dress our best for Easter Sunday (or Resurrection Sunday as Christians often refer to it)? Why does it matter?
Jesus, the true reason we celebrate Easter, died (as dramatized in The Passion Of The Christ Definitive Edition). He was brutally tortured and died the death of a Roman execution on a cross; and He did it for me, and for you! See, because we are all sinners powerless to save ourselves we need someone to take our place if we want any chance of escaping the eternal consequences of our sin! And that “Someone” is Jesus! Jesus died. He died to take our place so we could have eternal life!
If you have asked God to forgive you for the pain you caused His Son on that cross 2,000 years ago and have received His forgiveness, this should inspire a sense of reverence and thankfulness in your heart that provokes you to give Jesus your best on the special day set aside to honor His loving sacrifice for you because Jesus is worth our best!
Does the way you dress for church reflect your reverence for your personal Savior?