Galatians 3:27
“For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”
People clothe themselves for different purposes. There is an attire for work, play, recreation, formal occasions and so on. In each of those areas there is much flexibility to match the style we are comfortable with. We portray the image we want to reflect with our choice of clothes. Some of those images are athletic, preppy, casual, urban, country and so on.
The clothes we wear project the image we desire. Each person has their own psychological reasons for that image. We may want to project power or success. Others may want to project humility. We may want to align ourselves with a style or group. Some say people connect most with a particular stage in our lives. Many form their identities in the teen stage. They may stick with that image for the rest of their lives. Others may form their image in the workplace.
Today’s passage says that we are to clothe ourselves with Christ. When we come to God for reconciliation, He becomes our Lord. That means He’s our boss. We may not be aware of that at first, but we will as we read the bible, hear messages from church and learn from other believers. The Holy Spirit within also nudges us about behavior.
Jesus sums up all of the commandments with love God and love people. As we go throughout our days, we may have unloving actions or thoughts. The Lord has His ways of pointing out the error of that. It may be through our consciences, thoughts or comments from people.
The point is when we come to Christ, He has a great influence over us. Some may decide that they aren’t willing to surrender to Him. They want to be in charge of all aspects of their lives. The Lord will wrestle with us. He will attempt to persuade. If we’re christians we need to put on Christ. Following the clothes metaphor, we can start with the sock. Then the other sock. In time we get comfortable with those.
The Lord rewards this obedience. We start to get an appetite for the Lord. We put on the shirt, then the pants. In time we are clothed in Christ. We have to grow acclimated to this. Like a football player putting on the pads and helmet. It takes some time to get used to them.
We circulate through the different parts of our world: work, school, the neighborhood, the gym, and so on. We become aware that we’re dressed differently. Our actions begin to change. We respond to coarse talk differently. Others might change as well, as they know we’d rather not partake. Our peer groups also change. Our closest friends are those dressed similarly. Church becomes a significant part of our lives. We go on Sundays and possibly through the week. We might start to volunteer and help out.
Romans 13:13, 14 also tells us to put on Christ. “Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.” Putting on Christ is to avoid sinful behavior.
Our flesh always wants bad things. We are to put those things off. The Lord doesn’t want us to behave those ways. He’ll help us, but it will be a life long battle against those things. As we awake in the mornings, we put on Christ. Don’t well on some things. Starting the day in the bible and prayer is helpful.
Lord, thank You for the new clothes you’ve given us. What a joy to be clothed in Christ. You help us to avoid evil and those things that drag us down. You connect us with those that are clothed similarly. Thank You for the belonging we gain from it.