Leaving The House With No Pants On

Aug. 16

Read: Col. 3:1-17

Leaving The House With No Pants On

“…seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.” (v.9)

I know that not everyone is that interested in fashion and clothing, yet it is still my hunch that everyone - at one point or another - has had to be intentional about what it is that they were going to wear. For some, this idea may come to life when one have a gathering to go to and you are staring in your closet trying to imagine what short to wear. For others, it may be more a matter of having a task at hand - like working on the car or painting - and needing to put on the right clothes for the job to get that work done. Whether we admit it or not, we ALL have to spend time trying to figure out what we are going to wear. Everyone of us has at one point or another realized that we were “wearing the wrong thing” or wished we had worn something else. Likewise, we all know what it is like to simply love what we have on and how it makes us feel… or to be glad that we were dressed the way that we were dressed. Let’s face it - the right outfit can make or break us! One last idea… we all have our “favorite outfit”… the one we most often chose to wear. These are normally clothes that fit us, are comfortable, and we feel like they look good. Now I want you to consider this…

God is calling us to “get dressed with” - to clothe ourselves with - our “new self”. (v.9) God is calling us to wear out into the world a new outfit… a new set of attributes that we are to be covered with. God is speaking to us as we stand in front of the closet contemplating what we ought to wear to the party. God does not want us to show up for life wearing the wrong things. He wants us to be prepared - properly dressed - for the task at hand. We wants us to wear attributes that “fit us”… that fit our “new selves” and who he is making us into in Christ Jesus. There is a certain way that we are “putting off our old self and putting on our new self.”

This process starts in our minds. “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” (v.1) We begin this journey by setting our minds on what is “above” and not “below and on earth”. This helps us understand what we are getting dressed for! There is a definite shift away from the things of this world and towards Christ. If you are seeking “life” - well it is “hidden in Christ”. The source of YOUR life as a follower of Jesus is within Jesus… hidden in him. We start by setting our minds on what is above and getting dressed accordingly.

Getting properly dressed for the Christian life also means taking off your dirty clothes! I know when I come back inside from working outdoors or biking… I am FILTHY. I am covered in grease, dirt, sweat, mud - you name it! I don’t come in the house and plop down on the couch. I need to shower and put on clean clothes. Christ has cleansed us and now we are to put on clean clothes. How ridiculous it would be to get washed off and then put the same filthy clothes back on! In Christ, we are to “Put to death therefore what is earthly in (us)” and “put off the old self with its practices…” (v.5,9) Those stained and filthy things we used to wear needvto get tossed! You should never wear them again. Those proverbial clothes don’t even fit you anymore! Let it go! So what are we called to wear as “God’s chosen ones”?

“…put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator…Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” (v.10,12,13)

This is what we are supposed to wear now. This is the “new self” that we put on. We are called to intentionally put on and wear out into the world THESE ATTRIBUTES. These are the things that should “cover us” as the children of God. Are you comfortable in these? Do they fit you? Would you chose to wear them again and again like your favorite outfit? Do you know that this “outfit”… this new self… it actually makes you look good like your favorite jeans or top or whatever? It does take time and energy to get dressed each day. When you are getting ready in the morning, what if you stopped to think about what attributes you were going to wear out into the world as much as what shirt and pants? There is one final thing though.

Everyone knows what it is like to have that final element that “pulls the entire outfit together”. That crucial piece of gear that links all of it together. God shows us what that is when we are “setting our mind on things above”, “putting off our old self”, and “being clothes in our new self”… do you now what it is? LOVE. “And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” (v.14) To forget to put on love is like leaving the house with no pants on! It is what holds the entire outfit together. It ties in all of the pieces! So where is your mind set today? Where are you seeking to find life? What are you going to wear? Cloth yourself in these “heavenly” clothes… they look fantastic on you and will help you get the job done! Love you guys. - JDP