Clothes

“And he recognized it and said, ‘It is my son’s tunic. A wild beast has devoured him.” Genesis 37:33

When I joined the Korean army due to mandatory service, one of the first things we did was to send our clothes home. As we entered basic training, we were given a brief orientation about basic training life. Of course, even this orientation included a lot of pushups. Then the training instructor took us around for us to collect government issued uniforms, toiletry, manuals, etc. Once we were done with that we were brought to the room where we would be staying. We all stood in one line. Then we were told to take off all of our civilian clothes, fold them and put them in a box. As the box was taped, we wrote down our home address on the box. They would be sent home soon. Imagine what my mom would have felt when she received the box. Her son drafted to the military, who would go through series of difficulties and hardships for the next two years. That life was symbolized by a box of my civilian clothes. It showed that her son was gone to live a difficult life.

It must have been worse for Jacob as he had in his hands the clothes of his son Joseph. The torn and blood stained clothes of Joseph truly broke the heart of this elderly man. He loved his son so much! And now he is gone. It was unbearable for this man that he would never see his loving son again. (We know the story did not turn out that way though.)

I wonder what God must have felt when the soldiers “crucified Jesus, took His garments and make four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic.” John 19:23. Jesus the Son of God was slain to death. It must have broken God’s heart, and yet it was necessary. Why? Because God wanted to save us. Because God loves us. That is how much God loves us. He sent us His Son Jesus. “In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.” 1 John 4:9