New Clothes!

Today the sun is shining, and in the Northern Hemisphere it's a sign that Spring is here, and Summer cannot be far behind. At last we can put away our thick Winter coats, fold up jumpers and warm woolly clothes, and with a smile search for the brighter colours and softer fabrics of Spring.

The stores would like us to think that we have to shop for a whole new wardrobe- but sometimes it's enough to find clothes that we already have, that we used to wear, but haven't worn for a while.

I wonder if the virtues we have been considering can be a bit like this? We know that we should be behaving with kindness, honesty, patience etc.....but have we forgotten about these things, pushed them to the back of our wardrobe and replaced them with the behaviours of darker and colder times?

Paul uses this image in Colossians 3, where he writes

Don’t lie to one another. You’re done with that old life. It’s like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you’ve stripped off and put in the fire. Now you’re dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete. 
Colossians 3: 9,10 The Message

When we become Christians, we turn away from our old life and sometimes it can be as dramatic as stripping off old filthy clothes and putting them on the fire. But I suspect that for many of us, as we seek to cultivate the character of Christ, it's more of a daily decision about which clothes to choose today. There, hanging in our wardrobe, are the garments custom-made by our Creator- made to perfectly fit us and equip us for the opportunities the day will bring, and surely not just useful clothes but beautiful things too, soft luxurious fabrics and shining colours that complement us and make us look our best. But sometimes we don't notice them, or assume that they are just too impractical, and reach instead for the comfortable pair of sweatpants we left lying on the floor yesterday-our well-worn default wardrobe of cynicism, grumbling, impatience, self-pity or bitterness. 

Paul writes

It wasn’t long ago that you were doing all that stuff and not knowing any better. But you know better now, so make sure it’s all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk.
Colossians 3: 7,8

This week we will be considering Paul's description here in Colossians of the virtues that we should be clothing ourselves with instead. Are you ready for a new wardrobe?