Getting Dressed!

Have you ever heard someone exclaim, while looking at a wardrobe bursting with clothes, "I've nothing to wear!" It's the sound shopkeepers love to hear. For, without fail, such an exclamation is often followed by a trip to the local clothing store to find that perfect item for today's need.

There is, of course, a huge difference between the clothing we need to make ourselves physically presentable and the clothing we need to adorn our life and character. The world is full of attractive and tempting offers - not just of physical clothing, but of activities which are a substitute for the very best spiritual clothing that's available. The sinful nature is constantly being drawn to things which have their source in the temptations laid for us by the god of this world.

In these past twenty years, much of my life has been spent in helping people to see that the things they have been choosing from the wardrobe of life have not been edifying and, tragically, have produced bad fruit in their lives. The clothing has been inappropriate and often very dirty and has had to be removed. But no Christian needs to exclaim "I've nothing to wear" for, as Paul expresses it so succinctly in our reading - we have the incredible riches of Christ at our disposal and if we clothe ourselves in everything that He is we will never be lacking in beautiful things with which to clothe our life and character.

Prayer: Thank you Lord Jesus for the beautiful clothing represented by your life and character. Help me to get rid of those items from the wardrobe of my life which are dirty and unedifying and always clothe myself with the very best you have provided for me. In Jesus' name, Amen.