Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ~ Colossians 3:12
Strangely enough, this verse has popped up in my life several times over the last few weeks. I heard it referenced in a sermon recently, I was reading a book where the author used this verse in an illustration, I saw it on the back of a T- Shirt today, and as I was reading my devotional this evening- here it is again.
Clothe Yourselves...
You don't wake up in the morning and accidentally change out of your pajamas & into a new outfit. Even if you sleep through seven alarms, twelve text messages, three phones calls, and wake up in a panic because you're more than an hour late for work wearing a wrinkled T Shirt and yesterday's blue jeans- it was still a choice
This verse is telling us to clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
Yikes.
Can I be entirely honest with you?
You kept reading, so I suppose I can...
Sometimes I find myself clothed in cynicism, grumpiness, entitlement, pride, and dishonesty. Or clothed in arrogance, compulsiveness, inconsideration, laziness, and pessimism...slathered with a little bit of sarcasm sprinkled on top of vanity.
Can you relate?
Proverbs 31:5 talks about the Godly woman who is clothed in strength and dignity. While I have some definite #goals to be like the Proverbs 31 Woman, I often find myself clothed in sweatpants and oversized T Shirts napping without fear of the future. (Probably College 31:25)***
I recognize this about myself. Despite my gross desire to overlook them, I definitely acknowledge my shortcomings and realize I have a very long list of flaws. And time after time I find myself relating to Paul who says in Romans "I don't understand myself! I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead I do what I hate."
I know that compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience are Christ-like attributes that I should be pursuing, Yet, I often find myself face to face with myself, shaking my finger, and scolding my heart for not seeking after the holiness of Christ.
This verse reminded me of the importance of being intentional with my walk with the Lord. I laughed a little bit when I reached the realization that this is what God wanted me to see from this verse, and I know I just talked about this a month ago, but if it's something God needed me to hear again I want to share in case you need to hear it too.
As citizens living in 2017, we have the ability to walk into a Bed, Bath, and Beyond to purchase any pair of Pajama Jeans, Jeggings, Snuggie, or Adult Onsie that our heart desires. If Bed Bath and Beyond is too overwhelming for your heart, you can tune into channel 240 on Direct TV to the Home Shopping Network, and (if you're 18 years or older) you can call to purchase the item to have it delivered right to your front door.
Obviously, we are leaps and bounds from our brothers and sisters in the dark ages to drove to the nearest super-Walmart to buy regular leggings or (gasp!) denim jeans...but we are still years away from the lavish lifestyle of the Jetson family.
Simply put, there are no short cuts. If we want to look our best then we have to put forth the effort to do so. If we want to reflect Christ then we have to put forth the effort that it takes to get to know Him. We have to put forth the effort that it takes to understand who He was as a man on earth, and who He is as our Father in heaven, so that we might understand who it is that He wants us to strive to become.
There's no out.
There's no loophole.
There's no CTRL + ALT + DEL that makes this any quicker or easier.
Unless you live on a nude beach, clothing yourself isn't an option. (And on the bizarre chance that you're reading this on a nude beach at this very moment...may I please be the first to announce to you 1- please do not ever tell me about this moment. 2- just because you can does not mean that you should) What you choose to clothe yourself with is a choice. Likewise, I have to choose how to clothe my personality each day.
I have to discipline myself to choose compassion over selfishness and kindness over bitterness.
I have to train myself to pick humility over pride and gentleness over harsh words or actions.
I have to cover my heart with patience instead of agitation.
It's not an easy thing to do, and I fail all the time. Every. Single. Day. If I'm not careful, I know I won't do it at all.
I Timothy 4:7 says that we have to train ourselves in godliness. This is an ongoing discipline that we must create within ourselves, and not something that we practice during our busy seasons. (AKA Christmas and Easter...)
My prayer is that people look at my and see the attributes of Christ that point others back to Him. I want to imitate His compassion, His kindness, His humility, His gentleness, and His patience. I want to cultivate a heart that shows love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. I want others to see His gift of salvation and grace, and seek out what it means to be covered in His perfect, unfailing, love.
So, here's to buttoning up the bravery and boldness is takes to live for Him. Here's to zipping up the zest for life that we need when we feel discouraged! Sewing up our souls with positivity! Threading our theological beliefs with the truth! Quilting our qualms and monogramming our minds with-----
(Yeah, no. I'm stopping the alliterations and cheesy textile related metaphors. That was getting ridiculous. You get the point.)
Bottom Line: God has clothed us in His grace and His gift of salvation. Our sins are completely covered up by what happened on the cross. The least we can do is to remember to put on what is reflective of His generosity to His children. Tomorrow I'm putting on my pants one leg at a time, just like I would do any other day of the week. My prayer this evening is that I spend some extra time getting ready in the mornings this week preparing my heart for the privilege of a responsibility that i have in reflecting His mercy and His grace.
***I'm not that creative nor am I witty enough to come up with that joke on my own. ;)
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