Put Your Clothes On

In Church, Devotional by Andy Comer

I have a love and hate relationship with my morning routine.  There are things I absolutely LOVE! There are things I absolutely hate!

I love my first cup of coffee.  I love spending a few moments meditating on God’s Word.  I love the sweet sounds my 1 year old daughter makes as she awakens herself.

There are other things I completely dislike.  Probably the one thing I most dislike is the stare-down I have with my clothes as I contemplate what I will wear that day.  It’s not that I don’t like my clothes, I do.  I just hate having to pick something out for the day.  I usually scroll right to left through all my shirts looking for the “perfect” one. This one is too dark for today.  That one is too wrinkled.  This one is long sleeved. That one is missing a button.

I usually end up lowering my standards, and I scroll back through again.  This time looking for the near “perfect” shirt.

Someone should invent a machine that automatically selects your clothes for the day. Sign me up!

You know, even more important than our physical clothes are our spiritual clothes. The Bible actually instructs us on spiritual wardrobe.

Colossians 3:12 says, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”

As a follower of Jesus Christ, these aren’t optional clothes that we get to pick and choose when we wear them.  These are attributes we should strive to display every single day.

Paul doesn’t only tell us to clothe ourselves with “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”  He also gives a really great reason to do so!

Here’s WHY….

Clothes are outward expressions of inward identity.

You can tell a lot about a person based on the clothes they wear.  Athletes wear athletic clothes.  Business people wear professional attire.  Construction workers wear working attire.

In the same way, our spiritual clothes are outward expressions of inward identity.  If you are a child of God, Paul says there are certain attributes that should be clearly seen in your life.

If my identity is in Christ, then I should clothes myself in a way that reflects my true identity.  I should strive every day to display compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

As a follower of Jesus Christ, your identity is described as “God’s chosen, holy, and dearly loved.”  May our spiritual clothes reflect our true identity today.