Wear the Robe Your Father Gives You

I bless you to
Wear the robe your father gives you.

When Jacob played favorites
And gave his youngest boy
A fancy tunic, (Genesis 37:3)
Some say the seventeen-year-old dreamer
Should have put the garment
In the drawer,
Should have shelved the sign
Of his father’s favor
To protect him from his brothers’ ire.

But the problem wasn’t in the robe—
It was in the brothers’ hearts.

The unloved will despise the loved
Until they are loved too.

One day, Joseph’s brothers
Would watch him wear another robe
Woven in “garments of fine linen” (Genesis 41:42)—
A royal outfit from Pharaoh’s closet.
And the brothers would tremble,
Until Joseph revealed himself
And fell on his wicked brothers
With love rather than vengeance.

You can’t stop people from hating you
By denying the gifts that God gives you.
So, I bless you to wear the robe of love
That the Father gives you
And to let that mantle of grace
Stretch outward in compassion
Upon all the sinners who stumble into your presence.