Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Colossians 3:12 NIV
Context and Charge:
You are addressed the way you are dressed. You do not have to do anything extra to recognise a soldier on duty if s/he is in uniform. The same goes for a person who is representing a head of state in another country. The letters of authority bear the authority of the presenting country, and the receiving country accords the representative all the honour you would usually give the head of state of the presenting country. If this is how mortal men conduct their affairs, imagine what it means to represent the King of kings and the Lord of lords. It is an assignment to be treated with utmost respect. We are called God's chosen people, which means out of billions, He chose us. That is a huge responsibility, as well as a demand for accountability.
God's choices are not made carelessly; it is not a wonder that the next phrase goes on to describe the expectation: holy. There is no other word used, and I will do well to keep that word central to my life's pursuits and priorities. No matter what else I do, I must be holy. The other word used with holy is dearly loved. You see, God's love for me is never in doubt. It is love that drew the plan of salvation and brought it to man, even when man was not even conscious that he needed help. Yet, with love comes an expected response: reject or respond. God has done all he can to help me decide; his love and nature make it easy for me to know what I am getting into. There are no hidden costs; I just have to be appropriately dressed for the life and service God has called me to.
Conviction and Conclusion:
What would my dressing entail? The following are listed:
compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. I do not know how any of these can be measured in physical terms, yet there is no way to deny the presence or absence of them in the life of anyone. You can fake them for a while, but by their nature, you cannot sustain the deceit for long. I also note the AND; I don't get to pick and choose the ones I am comfortable with. It is a complete package, with my life expected to be a daily reflection of God's expectations and demands.
Now that I know what proper dressing entails from God's perspective, what steps do I need to take to review my current appearance? What do I need to take off, and what do I need to look for, to add to my current collection, so that I can be all that God intends? I must note that God does not lower the standards for anyone, no matter who you are or what you do for Him. His choices do not have to meet my approval as He does not answer to me. As He chose me, so he chose you, and He can choose and use anyone he wants. Now I know; obedience is the way to amazing blessings. God's time of favour is here.
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