There is a familiar story in the Bible, about a coat of many colors.  It is familiar not only as a Bible story, but as a successful Broadway musical — Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.  It is a story that one can read over and over, or enjoy at a theatre time and time again.  I remember seeing it while in college many years ago, and watching it again recently on DVD with Donny Osmond as the star.  While there is some curiosity about exactly what the coat was, way back then, we can be certain of the intent of the gift.  The father wanted to give special favor to a son, and in the gift, to let others know of the son’s special status in the family.  When people saw Joseph, in this multi-colored coat, they knew.

Today we might not think of coats being all that important.  Back then, coats were.  Coats were so important that they were taken from their owner when the owner made a pledge to another person, as collateral.  But, as collateral, the coat was not allowed to remain with the other person overnight, as the owner would literally freeze without it.  The coat was functional, as a warm covering, but also, of value, sufficient to ensure a promise was kept.

Thinking about the story, I realized that I don’t have a coat of many colors, but I do have coats of many colors.  My coat closet is jammed with coats, from one side to the other.  Some are used often, while some seem to gather dust.  Three of my coats are worn quite a bit.

One coat is brown.  Just brown.  Not coffee brown, more like a warm tan.  I’ve had it for a long long time.  So long that the brown is fading from the cotton threads.  If you look closely at the coat, you’ll find a few dark spots.  Those spots are dirt, mud, and even one or two from dried blood.  It’s my hunting coat, you see, and sometimes the spots from hunting won’t come out.  When I wear this coat, those who see me recognize me as an outdoorsman.  It’s a coat that quietly says “I’m rugged, not afraid to work, and enjoy the woods.”

One coat is grey.  It’s a nice grey, with a bit of sheen to it. It’s my motorcycling jacket.  I wear it as I swoosh through the country on my Honda Interceptor.  The silvery grey jacket blends well with the aluminum features of this motorcycle.  It’s a neutral color, to be sure, but it’s a bit unusual.  Best of all, it adds to my protection, as it has armor in the shoulders, elbows, and back.  It fits closely, with adjusting straps at the waist to get it out of the wind.  When I wear this coat, everyone knows one thing–I’m dangerous.  I’m one of those guys that ride motorcycles.  Fast.  I’m not like everyone else.

One coat is black.  Just black.  It’s wool, it’s long, and it’s just heavy enough.  It is the coat I wear over my business suits when I’m on those trips to see customers.  Usually those trips take me to places with millions of people.  Big cities, big airports, and often bad weather.  A long black wool coat helps me avoid the chills of the biting winds.  And, it does something different than the motorcycle jacket.  It makes me look like everyone else.  There are literally hundreds of business travelers wearing this coat.  I am like them.  I am one of them.

So, my coats of many colors, like Joseph’s coat of many colors, highlight to others who I am.  I am an outdoorsman.  I am a motorcyclist.  I am a businessman.  These coats give me an identity, that anyone can see.  These coats also remind me of who I am.

In the Bible, we read about another coat.  It is described as a “robe of righteouness.”  It is, in Hebrew parallel prose, a “garment of salvation.”  This coat is not one you can find in an outdoors emporium, the motorcycle shop, or that downtown big name department store.  It is a gift, from God.  It is an act by a loving Father to give us something we need, most desperately.  I can’t reach into my closet to grab this coat!

This “robe of righteousness” is a gift I receive from God when I accept Christ.  It’s a “garment of salvation” that comes only when I recognize my shortcomings and sin, and realize the penalty for them is death.  As I look to Christ as taking my place, as I see Christ on the cross bearing the punishment I deserve, I fall to my knees in a moment of surrender, and a moment of joy.  At that time, when I accept the gift, God places on my shoulders this most colorful of coats.

For in giving me a coat that covers me, God gives me a coat that identifies me.  It’s a coat that I wear in His presence, without which I could not enjoy His fellowship.  I am, just as Joseph was, His son.  I am, just as Joseph was, favored.  I am, just as Joseph was, set apart for His use.

What’s even more amazing is that God has coats for everyone!  In the perfect size, no matter how short or how tall, how big or how small.  Not everyone wears one.  I think I know why.  I think it is because we cover our “robe of righteousness” with other coats. I think we hide our garment of salvation under another–maybe a hunting coat, maybe a motorcycle jacket, or maybe a black wool coat just like everyone else wears.  Our friends can identify us in these ways, but can’t see the cloak God placed on our shoulders.

For if they could see God’s gift, they would know.  They would know the peace we feel of our certain future.  They would know the joy we have in being a child of God.    They would know the love of God.  You see, the only way our coat can be seen is in love.  Love that is selfless.  Love that is kind.  Love that is faithful.  Love that is forgiving.  At first, we must accept God’s Love in Christ, to accept His garment of salvation.  Once we don that cloak, our calling is to make Him known, in that same love.  Our robe of righteousness can cover any of our coats of many colors, but only if we love.  Only if we love.  Today, you may need to wear that warm wool coat against that bitter northerly wind.  But today, remember that over everything, to put on love.  Love one another, as God has loved you!  As you love, allow God’s Love to draw others to Him.  May our love for others bring them to God, so that they too may wear His coat of many colors.