Let’s just think about some things that we, as people, put on every day. Obviously we put on clothes; this hasn’t changed since the Garden of Eden except we have upgraded from fig leaves. Between showers, deodorant, and toothpaste we put on cleanliness. On a deeper level some of us put on a smile to seem more inviting, or we put on a friendly disposition even if our disposition is more displaced with sadness. There are a million things we “put on” in many different senses for any number of reasons.
I love what a friend of mine said in a conversation we were having, “There are a million different things that have happened to make me who I am. People act a certain way because of whatever has happened in their life.” What a powerful thought! Of course my mind immediately jumped to all the bad things that have happened to me to possibly shape who I am today. (Allow me to gnaw on this thought for a moment, and then I shall return to the idea of putting on). There is no sense in laying out all the possible catastrophes that might have happened in our lives, so let’s agree to just be cognoscente of them while following this thought.
With those life events in mind I want to turn to two verses in Colossians 3. Verse 2 says “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” Sure, Paul, sure. Easy to say when you have actually seen Jesus; Friggin Apostle. If Paul had left off with that verse without including verse 3 that is exactly how I would react. But what an enormous promise that follows in verse 2! “FOR(so, in light of what verse two says, therefore, because, here is the reason to trust in verse two right here, continue reading) you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Literally every sin that you have committed, every heinous act, any confounding big string of words I could tie together to describe depravity that we have committed is hidden in the beautiful, radiant glory of Jesus Christ. God no longer looks down on a wretched lowly sinner who is dangling by a thread over hell. He literally sees His most prized possession in place of me and you, His son Jesus.
***For anyone reading this that might not know Jesus as your Lord, and Savior, all of this forgiveness hinges on the fact that you trust in Christ as the son of God; that Jesus died on a cross, was buried, in three days rose from the dead, and ascended in to heaven. By trusting in that, and submitting your entire life to God there is forgiveness for any and all sin.***
Back to things we put on. First, before you can put anything new on one must certainly take off the old that is already there. No one goes to American Eagle with nothing on, and then take an arm full of clothes to the dressing room to put the new on. You are required to come just you are to receive your new clothes. The same is true with Christ. We do not clean ourselves, and then come to Christ. No, we come just as we are, with our sinful, dirty Hollister clothes already on, and then He imputes His righteousness upon us, taking away our sin.
Immediately after Paul tells us as Disciples of Christ that our lives are hidden with Him, He gives us some substantial commands. In verses 5 through 11 there are several things that we, as believers, must be sure to remove from our lives. The joy of it is if you are in Christ you will want to remove these things; hence repentance. Non-specifically Paul tells us to “Put to death what is earthly among you,” but very specifically he lists out “sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” Also, he lists “anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.”
I implore us as believers to not just “put off,” which implies that we could put them back on, these things that are sin in our lives, but to do as Paul said and “put to death” these sins. Here is why, so that we can “put on” noble attributes that are only possible to “God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved” (Colossians 3:12a). Because we are hidden with Christ in verse 3 we as believers have the blessing to “put on” for Christ through modeling the very character that makes Jesus the son of God. “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience” (Colossians 3:12-13a). He goes on to also tell us to be forgiving as Christ forgave us (which means forgiving to entirety), and to love one another.
All of these commands of things to put on are not a burden. They are blessings from of God. How loving of a God do we serve that He would write out for us the character He looks for in His children? That He makes it so plain is incredible. Before I go further I want to define “put on.” In some cases, to put on means to put up a front, or to proceed in false pretenses. For instance, Barry Bonds puts on as if he didn’t do steroids, O.J. puts on as if he didn’t do it, Craig Lawson puts on as if he thinks Manning is better than Brady. When I say put on I mean put on as in equip ourselves with, or to put on like represent for a team. Like Young Jeezy said, “I put on for my city,” but my city is heaven, and my life is Christ’s.
I want to close with verse 15 from Colossians. “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which you were called in one body. And be thankful.” My mentor challenged me with this verse, and to use it in my daily life. It has been a life changing verse for me. In more situations than I can count I ask myself if I feel a peace about it, and let that peace rule whether I partake or pass over an opportunity. To apply it to the previously used text, I challenge you, and I, to ask ourselves if we have a peace about the character we are currently putting on. Not that we will immediately be everything that verses 12-14 entail, but there is no more worthy a task than to put on the character of Jesus in order to win souls to Christ.
“And be thankful.” –Colossians 3:15b
