Do you own clothes that when worn give you greater confidence? Clothes that when people see you wearing them, they compliment how they look? In my menagerie of clothes, there are days I will be super casual because the tasks of the day allow for a more relaxed look and feel. While other days require a more put-together, business look because of meetings or speaking opportunities. I am always amazed when someone notes what I am wearing and comments, “Why are you all dressed up?” or “Not going to the office today?” The clothes we wear draws people’s attention to us and potentially communicates to the world our expectations for the day.
In Colossians 3:12 we read, “As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience” (NRSV). In The Message, Eugene Peterson paraphrases the beginning of this passage, “So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you.” As followers of Jesus, we have a certain “wardrobe” we wear that shows the world our commitment to Jesus.
Over the next several weeks, we will look at this wardrobe and consider how we are clothing ourselves each day.
What we wear often begins as an expression of how we feel and how we view ourselves. We witness people who will wear poor fitting clothes to try to hide blemishes or areas of their bodies they do not want anyone to see. They will wear colors that accentuate their eyes or hair or colors that express their mood for the day. I will confess for many people, the clothes they wear are no more than an expression of what is laundered in their home.
At the beginning of Colossians 3:12, Paul writes, “As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved…” The relational aspect of this passage conveys the importance of our intimacy with God. God desires that relationship and desires for all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4). God’s love for us is expressed in sending His son into the world that we might live (1 John 4:9). We are called out from our worldly living to live as set apart, holy people who are beloved. We no longer live for our own ways, but we seek the ways of the Kingdom of God in our daily lives.
Recently at a Christian Ashram, we were discussing John’s use of “beloved” in 1 John. One of the participants stated, “For me beloved is expressed as ‘be-loved’.” We have confidence as children of God that we are loved. We seek God’s will for our lives and live obediently because we want to please God. God’s love is not conditional where His love is measured based on our actions; yet, when we are daily seeking to follow Jesus, our actions will best convey God’s love at work in our lives.
When I know deep in my heart and soul that God loves me, it is easier to wear the clothes of God’s attributes each day. When I find myself struggling in life and at a distance from God because of my actions, I tend to consider the filthy rags and look destitute and lifeless. Paul’s invitation for us is to wear the wardrobe God has given to us out of the confidence that we are “chosen ones, holy and beloved.”
Do you understand today that God chose you and desires a relationship with you? Do you understand that today you are holy and beloved? If you do not have the confidence as one who is chosen, holy, and beloved, let me invite you to spend time in prayer, asking God for confidence and to prepare you to put on the wardrobe He has picked out for you.
Prayer: Jesus, in my mind I know you love me and make me holy. Yet, in my heart I sometimes allow the past mistakes, struggles, and sin to speak loudly, stealing my confidence. As I come to you this week, cleanse my heart that I can see I am a chosen one, holy and beloved. I want to put on the wardrobe you have picked out for me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.