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Garments of Christ

By: Alan Smith

Col. 3:12-14: 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 whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. (NIV)

The garments of Jesus Christ: what a thought for today! How will I know I have put on these heavenly garments.  I will know if I am wearing His garments because of their weightless nature.  When the garments feel heavy, then I know I am wearing my own and not His.  In fact, as I consider this, it becomes so amazing to me how Jesus and I just do not think alike.  You know, turn the other cheek and stuff such as that: an action which comes from the attributes of the clothing listed in the scripture above.  An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth come more naturally to me.  So how does Jesus come up with this type of thinking, which ultimately creates His garments?

Could it be that He has the best seat in this stadium of life, which allows Him to have a vantage point over us?  He gets to see the big picture because His seat is far above the earth into the room of heaven.  I sure would like to have a pass into this room so I could sit in the VIP section.  Well, actually, I do have a pass to enter into this room; but I’m not sure that I have been using this pass as Christ intended for me to use it.  This pass He has given me is one of the benefits of receiving Him into my life.  Paul said it as follows:  Eph. 2:6-7: “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.”  Is this cool or what?  But wait a minute!  If this is where I am to be seated, why is my view of life so messed up and full of problems?  Perhaps I need to leave so I can go.  You know, if I do not like the view from here, I need to go to where the view is better.  I need to leave my way of thinking and start thinking like Jesus, so I can enter into the VIP room of the Spirit.  Come with me as I take a journey into this room.

As I approach the room I see a sign on the wall, which says, “DRESS CODE REQUIRED”.  I really do want to enter in; so—I will “just do it”.  The dress code begins like this: “clothe yourselves with compassion”.  Boy, am I in trouble now!  I know, if possible, I will need to exchange my old clothes at the door, because I am not clothed in compassion.  I ask the kind man at the door, “Will you please exchange my selfishness for your compassion?”  He replies, “Sure, I would be glad to.”  I then think to myself that this is a really great deal: old clothes for new ones.

The next item on the dress code is “kindness”.  So I ask again, “Will you exchange my hatefulness for your kindness?”  With a little smile he turns and looks at me and says, “I would love to make this trade.”  I find myself in unbelief once again, as I am sure in my mind that this man is going to lose everything he has.

I move on to my next item of clothing, which has a bad smell, so I ask the kind man, “What do you have in exchange for my pride?  And, remember, it is very valuable to me.”  The man replies, “I will give you humility in exchange for your pride.”  It seems to me that he is getting the better deal here, but I then think to myself, “What the heck?  I can get more of this pride anytime.”

The man then looks at me and says, “I think you need a new pair of underwear.”  My reply is one of shock: “Underwear!  What do you mean: underwear?”  He responds with a smile and says, “You know, the part of your clothing that no one else can see until you show your behind.”  I then slowly ask, “Is anyone looking?”  And he says, “No one but me.  Here, take this new underwear of the spirit called gentleness and patience and wear it very close to you.”

His eyes catch mine and he says, “Now then; you need one more piece of clothing to enter into this room.”  “But,” I remark, “I have nothing left to exchange!”  He laughs and says, “You need nothing to exchange.  It is a free gift.  It will cover all of your new clothing: just ask and you will receive.”  I question him again: “What is this covering called?”  Here is his reply.  “It is called my love, and it will cover all things.  It will keep you very warm, so wear it at all times.  It will keep your new clothing from getting soiled.  Enter into this room and see as I see.”  When I ask his name, he replies, “Just call me JC, your friend.”

Just a Thought for Today!

Alan