Wearing Internal Fashion

Claire Black: This is True Girl a podcast for girls and their moms. Together we’ll explore God’s truth for us one drive at a time. Buckle up, this is no ordinary drive time. 

Together, we’ll figure out how to develop true inward beauty that will never fade. True Girl is hosted by Dannah Gresh, author of 8 Great Dates for Moms and Daughters. Let’s get moving for season 1, episode 7 titled, “Wearing Internal Fashion.” 

Here’s Dannah.

Dannah Gresh: Hey, Dannah here, and I’m ready for another episode of True Girl. I just need my cohost, Staci Rudolph. 

Staci Rudolph: Well, hey, I’m here. So, let’s just hop right on into it. 

Dannah: Okay. I want us to take a little fashion quiz. You ready for this, Staci? 

Staci: Let’s do it. 

Dannah: It’s only one question.

Staci: I’m on it, okay. Imagine you’re about to go play a rousing game of soccer. What do you wear? Choice A: your satin sport shorts, a t-shirt, and your cleats? Or Choice B: a long, silk dress and high heels? Dannah?

Dannah: Okay. Well, I think the answer is pretty obvious. I’m going to go with A—satin sports shorts, a t-shirt, and my soccer cleats. 

Staci: Correctomundo. 

Dannah: Here’s the thing. We have to wear the right things to the right place at the right time, right?

Staci: Yes. Exactly. Now, Dannah, hold that thought. You see, we’ve been talking about what we wear on the outside. But watch out—abrupt right turn straight ahead. Today, I want to invite you to look at what you’re wearing on the inside. I want to challenge you to dress your heart. 

Dannah: Okay. I think this sounds fun . . . and important. In fact, we’ve sort of mentioned it a time or two, but today, we’re going to focus on internal beauty—what we’re wearing on the inside. And we have a story to share with you, but it’s not ours. This story was told by Jesus. We find it in the book of Matthew, chapter 22. But we have kind of a more modern version of it to share, right?

Take it away Staci. 

Staci: Okay, so it all began one day when the king was in quite a festive mood. You see, his son was finally about to get married, and the king had decided to throw a magnificent wedding banquet. Now, in Bible days weddings were events that occurred quite quickly and with little notice. 

Dannah: So, they didn’t send out save-the-dates or anything?

Staci: Nah, nah, nah. And this one was to be a wondrous affair. Now, Jesus didn’t give us all the details, but I imagine that a baker was hired to build the tallest wedding cake the valley had ever seen. Maybe the village florist was brought in to bring fields and fields of the freshest and most beautiful flowers, and the fattest bull in the field was roasted for dinner. I’m not imagining that part, Jesus actually told us that. 

And of course, the local engraver was called upon to make the most beautiful wedding invitation the land had ever seen. Maybe there was a save the date. This was before the printing press. The invitation read, “Come to the wedding banquet.”

Dannah: That’s pretty direct—gets the job done. 

Staci: I’d say so. And as soon as the invitation was complete, the king sent his servant out to present it to his select friends. Now, this is where the story turns a little bit tragic. You see, the servants of the kings were mistreated and killed. The king was furious! He had to punish those offenders, right?

But then, he still had a wedding to host. So, he gathered more servants, and he asked them to go out in the village and to invite the poorest of the poor, the sick, and the homeless to be his honored guests at his son’s wedding. 

Dannah: Wow. 

Staci: Yeah. Well, as you can imagine, the poorest of the poor and the sick and the homeless were all very excited to come. And the king’s banquet hall was soon full. It was time for him to make his grand entrance. The king came in to see his guests. Even the poorest of the poor, the homeless, and the sick had cleaned themselves up and managed to find beautiful wedding clothes . . . all except one. 

The king’s eyes fell upon one lone man. So he approached him and said, “How is it that you were allowed in? You are not dressed for a wedding.” And with a heavy heart, the king called for his servants and sadly said, “Tie this man’s hands and feet and throw him out into the darkness.” 

Dannah: Yeah, and that’s actually how it ends. It’s sad. Kind of harsh. But if you really know what this story is saying, you’ll know that it doesn’t have anything to do with bow ties and suits and silk dresses like you might wear to a wedding. 

Staci: I know, the beginning of the story reads like this, in Matthew 22:2 “The kingdom of heaven can be illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son.” (NLT) 

Dannah: What that’s saying is this really a story that helps us understand what heaven can be like. And the clothing the king is concerned about is not what’s on the outside, but what’s on the inside.

Staci: Now, you might think, I put on my jeans and my t-shirt today. I didn’t put anything on the inside. So, let me explain, the Bible has lots of verses that tell us to put on things. For example, Ephesians 6 invites us to put on the belt of truth. That kind of means that we use our Bibles every day to think truthful thoughts. It’s standard issue wardrobe for every true girl. 

Dannah: Yeah, like internal wardrobe. And it could be argued that the most important thing the Bible instructs us to put on is found in Romans 13:14 where it says, “Clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.” 

Staci: Now, the king in the fancy clothes, if you haven’t guessed it, represents Jesus Christ. And the wedding invitations, well that’s really talking about our invitation to heaven. 

Dannah: You see, you and I just can’t get into heaven without Jesus. Let me read John 14:6 to you. It says, “Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” 

And the reason that’s true is because you and I are sinful, we’re broken, and we’re imperfect. And God is perfect and holy, and so we can’t be in the presence of His holiness and His perfection unless that brokenness in us, that sinfulness in us is fixed. And so, when Jesus came to this earth and lived a perfect sinless life and died to take the punishment for our sin, well that is what enables us to go to heaven and to live in the presence of a pure and holy God. 

But Jesus is a gentleman and so He gives us the choice, “Will you accept this free gift of My forgiveness, of My salvation?” And when you and I choose to receive that free gift from Jesus, well that’s when we begin to wear Jesus in our lives. That’s when we begin to have Him present in us and on us. And because of that, we can get into heaven. 

Staci: And here’s the fun part, Jesus is the main garment for our hearts. There are lots of fun accessories that God wants you and I to wear. Things like gentleness, patience, kindness, good deeds. And the more we get to know Jesus, the more we collect those kinds of things to put on. 

Dannah: Yeah, it’s like an accessory collection. And this is where we start to get to true beauty, not the kind the world makes up, but the kind that comes from deep inside of us. Because when Jesus lives within us and we put on the qualities of His heart, not only are we dressed appropriately for heaven, but we become more and more beautiful here on this earth. 

You see Jesus is the true source of our beauty. Remember? We talked about that, the presence of Jesus in our life makes us truly beautiful.

Staci: That’s right. And a true girl knows that true beauty is not determined by what she wears on the outside. True beauty is ultimately determined by what you wear on the inside. 

Dannah: What you wear on the inside, that’s true. And I think that’s a perfect place to suggest an optional True Girl Challenge. 

Staci: Bring it. 

Dannah: Do your hair. Do your hair, girl. You find that funny? Now, listen you could go to a salon if you want or just go online and learn about some fun braids. That’s probably the simple way to do it. 

Staci, I like your braids. 

Staci: Well, thank you. 

Dannah: Is that what you call them? They’re like twisties.

Staci: Yeah, yeah. 

Dannah: They’re beautiful. 

Staci: Thank you. 

Dannah: You might just find some time in the future, the near future, to do your hair. Do some fun braids, and as you do, talk to your mom about what you’re wearing on the inside. Are you wearing Jesus? Are you wearing kindness? Are you wearing gentleness? Are you wearing patience? Are you taking time to open your Bible on a regular basis, so that you can wear truth? And remember that a True Girl knows that beauty is ultimately determined by what she wears on the inside, not what she wears on the outside. 

Claire: I can’t wait to get working on my heart, how about you? Dannah and Staci just made a fun suggestion for moms and daughters, visit a hair salon. That idea comes from the book 8 Great Dates for Moms and Daughters by Dannah Gresh. This book is full of activity ideas and it will also help you turn these dates into opportunities for deep conversation. 

To get a copy of 8 Great Dates for Moms and Daughters, visit MyTrueGirl.com. While you’re there, you’ll find other resources to bring moms and daughters closer to Jesus 

True Girl is a production of Revive Our Hearts calling women of all ages to freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ. 

*Offers available only during the broadcast of the podcast season.