Breastplate of Righteousness

Before Jesus does a single miracle or wins a single debate, His Father declares, “This is my beloved Son.” The Breastplate of Righteousness if first received, not achieved. Jesus lives from His identity and not for it. In a culture obsessed with proving ourselves, righteousness becomes either self-righteousness or despair but in Jesus it becomes protection. When we armor up like Jesus, we stop performing for approval and begin living from the truth that we are approved. The battle is not to impress God, but to rest in the righteousness He gives and then live through that righteousness leading to a life of character and integrity.