Jesus' Covering

     Yesterday I had a very stressful lesson that brought me face to face with some of my shortcomings. I was trying to complete a test for an online course that Lane and I are taking. I had previously taken the test and submitted it, but then received an email that I needed to resubmit an essay answer because they didn't feel I had answered it correctly. I was thankful for the opportunity to look at the question again and have a better understanding of the subject....
     Probably not surprisingly, the test was about "humility", facing our shortcomings and admitting them quickly, from Matthew 5:25 "Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison". There was a deadline to get this test completed and careful instructions! 
     While I was trying to get the answer written in "at least 10 sentences and not more than 20", as carefully instructed, and finished by 2 PM, as carefully instructed also, either my computer decided to eat up all of my work, or I was being given extra opportunity to really think about the lesson and let it soak in. I wrote what I thought was a really good answer to the essay question and then with a click of the mouse the whole answer was wiped out! I tried to find the undo or the saved draft...or anything! but it was all gone! With time running out on the deadline given to get the answer submitted I was running out of options, I wrote another answer! I don't believe it was as good as the first, but I had less time now and just wanted to get it finished so I could turn it in, another click to copy and paste and this answer was gone too! I was really getting stressed and started crying and praying, this course is important and if I didn't get this answer turned in it would affect my whole standing! I frantically started trying to pull myself out of the panic enough to stop crying and to be able to put some words together to describe what I had learned from the teaching about Matthew 5:25 "Agree with your adversary quickly while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison". 
     What I learned from this scripture did became more extensive with each time I wrote my answer!(*My computer ate about 3 answers!) I now have a more complete understanding of the purpose of this teaching than I did when we first read it and I spent the rest of the day in a very different spiritual place. I do understand that as I do have many shortcomings and accept that fact I more fully welcome the covering of Jesus' righteousness I am in a much more humble position... humble and thankful. I'm not trying to reteach what the lesson covered about this scripture, because it is taught much better by Francis Frangipane than I would be able to give it justice, but I can tell you that you do need to face the fact that we are all far from perfect, but that's ok...we are in a process of being perfected by the Holy Spirit...but while our righteousness is as "filthy rags" to God we are covered by Jesus' righteousness and it is Glorious! Don't try to walk in your own righteousness...it will put you in the guilt zone! Thank You Jesus for Your covering!