In church this past week, we went over Romans 8:14. I really enjoy this verse, and I believe it has some great wisdom for all Christians to follow. This verse says, “Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.” The Lord wants us to be clothed with the characteristics of Christ. He wants us to put on pieces of Himself, so we can show off his qualities to the world.
I really enjoyed how my pastor addressed this verse with us. He described how we, as a population, do often care about our clothes. I know I personally love to spend time picking out clothes, going shopping for clothes, and making a new style choice. We can take time picking out clothes for different important occasions because we want them to say a certain thing about us. Even if we have a uniform, some of us take pride in the uniform we earned. I know I feel this way whenever I wear a race shirt or a race jacket after I have crossed the finish line. This is especially if it was a really challenging or long race. I can’t wait to wear it and show others what I recently accomplished.
We as people should have similar belief and desire to be putting on the characteristics of Christ in the same way. Sometimes, I don’t know if we always think of putting on Christ in all situations. When you think about clothes, we wear them all the time. We are constantly in some sort of clothing material, whether it be swimming clothes, pajamas, work clothes, working out sweats, etc. We are constantly wearing something. They are different, and they change, but there is always something. However, I don’t think we always put on the qualities of Christ for all different circumstances. We may when we are in Bible group, or in church, but do we when we are driving or when we are at the store or when we are frustrated at work.
My pastor stated that sometimes, we need to simply go into different situations with a heart change. Getting back to the driving example from the last paragraph, there are a lot of times we as people can show impatience and lack of love when we are driving, and this is especially when we are in a hurry or a rush. Sometimes we don’t plan out our mornings as well as we should, and then we are driving to work or some other event, we may not be as on time as we would like. Because of this we get frustrated by any driver in front of us, who is driving slower than we would prefer. However, if we go into the car with a Christ like attitude, then we are more than likely to be kind and loving when we are driving, even if something does happen we don’t particularly appreciate.
My worst offender is at the Grocery store. I hate going to the grocery store. I don’t know what it is that makes me hate it so much, but I am always so anxious and filled with dread whenever I am headed toward the grocery store. I really don’t like it when it is a very busy day, and there are people filled all through the aisles or when the lines at the grocers take a long time to get through. I try really hard to keep my patience in check, but there are definitely times when I struggle while shopping.
So what exactly is the clothes or the personalities of Christ we need to be putting on? I mentioned one in the last paragraph, which is patience. Galatians 5:22-23 specifically talks about the personalities or the qualities we need to have to be like Jesus Christ. This says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance (patience), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” The fruit of the spirit is the qualities and the personalities we need to put on, on a regular basis.
The biggest of this spirit is love. Out of our love for others, we will be willing to be more joyful, peaceful, patient, gentle, and showing self-control. No matter how unkind or how cruel they are to you, it is still willing to be loving or kind or filled with patience. This is being willing to be faithful to the Lord and to your morals and values, even when it isn’t the most convenient. These are the qualities we need to put on everyday. It will take practice, and we will not always get it right, but the point is to try our best to be as close to Christ and to be the most loving we can be, on a daily basis.
My challenge for you this week is to spend time thinking about the times when you are not always putting on the clothes of Christ. I already mentioned the times when I don’t have the clothes of Christ. Where is the area or even people where you most struggle to put on the outfit of Christ? Then the second challenge is whenever you next approach this situation, take some extra time praying to avoid becoming un-Christ-like. Maybe, take some time reflecting on your ability to be Christ like no matter what life throws at you. It isn’t always easy, but it is always worth it.
Colossians 3:23 Blog 