Some folks dress for religion. They are completely covered in rules and regulations. You may think I'm talking about Muslims, Hindus, or even Amish. These women in these religions are covered from head to toe, in complete modesty. They are covered to not bring attention to themselves. What about Christians? What about the ones who are covered by their own rules and regulations? The ones tied down by "I must" and "I have to". I must memorize. I must be in church on Sunday. I must fill the pews. I must sit in the same pew. I must sing the songs. I must do church in this order. I must have another program. I must pray. I must; I have to. We get very busy doing things for God, but in reality we are dressing for ourselves. It is putting on the best image we want to see in the mirror.
Some folks dress for the world. They try to conform to the image on the magazine covers. It is a constant rat race of looking better or keeping up with the Jones'. This can look like a praising Jesus at church but throughout the week cursing at anyone who gets in your way. It is the wife who kisses her husband in front of others with a smile but is cold to him the rest of the week. It is the man who drives the newest car but gives only a quarter to the poor. It is the woman who eats only salad in public but gallons of ice cream in secret. It is the person who holds their children’s hand on Sunday morning and watches pornography when those same children are in bed. It is the calling of another under the pretense of a prayer request, but in reality for a gossip fest. It is putting forth this image of what we think others want to see.
We lie to ourselves, lie to one another about the truth of who we are. The truth is we have all walked in the shadow of these ways. We have all been slaves to the idolatry of image, whether we were serving ourselves or serving the image of what we perceived others wanted us to be. We have all been slaves to our earthly nature of putting our own greed over the care for others. We have lusted after our own desires. We have all acted out in anger. We have all raged about a misdeed done to us. We have gossiped and put someone down. We have been in this place of continual death: death in our relationships, death in how we treated others, death in our hearts.
This is where the glory of Jesus invites you into his life, a new life. It is a life where we die to our old ways, ways that are killing us from the inside out. It is an invitation to a new life where we are hidden with Christ in God. It is a life where we have an entire new wardrobe, one where we are clothed completely in Jesus. What could this new life look like?
How many people can still wear the clothes they wore in high school? Most have expanded into a new size. The same thing happens in our old life. We can no longer fit into the old clothes. In a life with Christ, we have expanded into a new being, one whose thoughts are no longer kept into the box of what can happen here on earth. We have expanded our minds to those things above, where there is no beginning nor is there an end. Life in Christ has no limits.
It is a life where our favorite things do not wear out, but they continue to be renewed. As our knowledge of the image of Jesus increases, we are renewed in knowledge of the image of our Creator. This is an image that cannot wear it. It is an image that we are transformed. Jesus transforms us. He renews us. He never gets old. He never wears out. We are hidden in who He is.
Jesus wraps himself around us, clothing us with his image. He is compassion. He is kindness. He is gentleness. He is patience. He is forgiveness. When we are hidden in Him, we are being continually transformed into his likeness. It is a clothing that never wears out, that never gets too small or too big. It is a clothing that fits us snugger than our own skin. We are covered in Him.
This is a clothing we cannot buy. It is clothing given to us freely by the grace of Jesus Christ. It is our choice to accept this gift made through his sacrifice. What clothing will you wear?
~Heidi Mikulin
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, whereChrist is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. 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 3:1-14