“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” Colossians 3:12-14 NIV

A snowy morning clothed in glory!

Paul’s letters to the different churches have loads of practical advice for all of us. In Ephesians, Paul tells us to put on the armor of God so that we can protect ourselves against the devil’s schemes. These are defenses like “the shield of faith,” and weapons like “the sword of the Spirit.” (the word of God)

In Colossians, Paul, suggests that as we deal with others, in and out of the church, that we clothe ourselves with the characteristics of Jesus. It is a beautiful image. As we dress in the morning for work or school or just to face the day, let’s clothe ourselves with those qualities that emulate the way Jesus dealt with people.

Let’s put on our shirt of compassion, our pants of patience, our two socks of kindness and humility, our two shoes of gentleness and forgiveness. And over all of this, our jacket of love.

I had decided on this verse last week when I read it again in a Bible study. And each day as I dressed, I pictured this image. Kind of silly, I know, but the funny thing is that when I was inclined to make a sarcastic comment or someone had hurt my feelings, as I looked down and saw my shoes, I remembered the verses. And I felt like I really was clothed in gentleness and forgiveness (my shoes!).

I imagine Jesus talking to the woman at the well, or telling the story of the good Samaritan, or having compassion on the adulteress, or healing all those who came to Him, or raising the widow’s son. Jesus demonstrated all of these. Paul reminds us of them. We simply have to remember to clothe ourselves each day in compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience with a covering and binding of love.

This week let’s clothe ourselves with the characteristics of Jesus as Paul has suggested. Let’s try to make a difference in our actions and reactions and act as we believe Jesus would.

I thank God for each of you! And I thank you for joining me this week as we clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, and love to temper all of our interactions with others.

Blessings as we shine the light!