Fashion and Faith
Opening Prayer
I praise You, Father, that through Your Son I can approach You boldly, free from fear, and so I come to pour out my heart to You.
Read Colossians 3:12–17
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
What does your wardrobe say about you?Every day we make big fashion decisions. What we wear, how we wear it, even the way we arrange our hair all reflect the way we want to be perceived by others. Concealed within our clothing are issues of identity, self-esteem, introversion or extroversion, and a general sense of where we fit in our environment. Clothes are loaded with meaning! And Paul uses this everyday life choice as a metaphor for Christian identity. In verses 12 and 14 he urges his readers to clothe themselves in a top drawer of premium virtues, particularly love. In fact, Paul says love is like a jacket (14), which keeps everything else in place and in order.
This is one of Paul’s favorite metaphors used to paint a picture of Christian identity. We put off the old self that was dying and we clothe ourselves with Jesus’ values and identity. You’ll find this idea earlier in Colossians (2:11) and also in Ephesians (4:22–24). Paul particularly links it with baptism, where we identify with Jesus in his sacrificial death and then in his new life. What these Colossians need is not a new set of beliefs but a fresh “wardrobe.”
Apply
Have you clothed yourself in Christ’s wardrobe of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience and love?
Closing prayer
Lord, I realize that a fractured and broken world is in need of seeing me in my true raiment. Clothe me with Your character.
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