A God who sews

*photo credit to Mrs. Emily Menz :)

Day 2 – A God who sews

I have orange pants. They may just be my favorite article of clothing. I feel like maybe I've talked about them before, so forgive me if you are like, “There she goes with the orange pants again!”

I love my orange pants. They are skinny corduroys. I love them so much that I brought them to Haiti with me...in August. Anyone who has had any experience in subtropical climates knows how ridiculous this is. But I love the pants and couldn't bear to just leave them in a drawer at home. Ridiculous.

I have sewn the pants once. They got a weird tear by the zipper and they were easily fixed with a needle and some tough thread. Then there was a small rip in the bottom near the seam, so I stitched that up. After doing the laundry on Sunday, I noticed a new rip near the zipper, so now they are sitting in a prominent place on my dresser, as a reminder to “fix me.” Some pants are worth fixing, you know? Some things in life are worth sewing.

Our God is a God that recognizes the value of sewing. The value of mending.

The earliest act of sewing we find is in Genesis 3. Read verses 6-13:

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her,and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Adam and Eve first sewed clothing for themselves out of fig leaves, to cover their shame. They had sinned against the God with whom they walked in the garden.

They had dishonored themselves, and all that He had given them, in their unbelief.

The serpent planted distrust, “Did God really say...” and they tossed aside who they knew Him to be, for who they let the devil tell them He was.

God responds with a whole host of discipline in the following verses, because we know that the Lord disciplines those He loves (Proverbs 3:12). He gives us a glimpse of the Gospel in Genesis 3:15. And then He pours the Gospel out onto His precious children in Genesis 3:21. Read that passage below:

And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

One of the earliest records of God's actions for His people, in the first pages of the world's story, is God sewing. It makes me tear up to think of a God who looks at Adam and Eve's paltry cover for the shame of their sin and says, “Let me lift that. Let me cover you with my garment.” God, in His earliest acts of love takes off our garment of shame and replaces it with sacrifices for us. It astounds me. His love is unfathomable. Beautiful.

And God continues to weave this part of His character throughout His word -

Isaiah 61:10

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
    my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
    he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
    and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Psalm 30:10-12

Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me!
    O Lord, be my helper!”

 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
    you have loosed my sackcloth
    and clothed me with gladness,
 that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
    O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

Jesus was stripped naked and put on a cross. He bore the utmost shame, to lift ours.

Let your head be lifted, friend. What did you put on today? We wear clothing - be it orange pants or maxi skirts, or socks of rags - because of sin. We cover the intimate places, because we all have darkness inside of us. But this is not where we live now. We are clothed by a Savior who loves us, who gives us his garments of righteousness and purity and holiness. He also gives us what we daily need, and sometimes that looks like really fun pants. Those pants can just be fun, but they can also remind us of Who He is – a God who loves us enough to cover us, lift us, and provide for us.

When you get dressed or undressed today, thank a God who sews. Thank a God who cares intimately about every little thing. Honor Him, love Him. He first loved you.

Discussion questions:

What is your favorite article of clothing that you currently own, or that you have ever owned?

Do you sew or no anyone who sews? Tell us about that.

What shame has God lifted from your life and bore for you? What has He replaced that shame with – forgiveness, joy, etc.? What burden has this lifted from you?