new clothes

There are some things you just don’t wear. Gang colors in certain inner-city neighborhoods can get you in trouble. So can a flashing Raiders sweater at Thanksgiving if your in-laws are all Chiefs fans.

What we wear signals some things about what we value. That may have been true in Paul’s day too, because of language he uses in Colossians 3. I’ll give you the larger passage, verses 11-15, because it will help understand:

“Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

“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 one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

The first statement is critical: in God’s kingdom all those old ways we used to identify all those who aren’t like us – race, religious rites, social status, country of origin – are erased. Instead, Christ is everything to all of us, and he is in all of us. That’s the only point of commonality we should care about.

Because of that, Paul calls us to change our clothes. Here’s our new outfit: compassions, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Paul starts that sentence with the word therefore. That means we need this change of wardrobe because those differences no longer matter.

We used to wear things like anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language (those are in verse 8). We used to lie to and about each other. Various tribal markings used to be in style, the things that let us readily pick out our own and avoid others. But those clothes simply won’t do anymore. God’s sacrifice puts all of us in the same place: at the foot of the cross.

These aren’t just a new fashion, though; these are work clothes. They’re intended to help us in this business of bearing with one another and forgiving each other so that we can be united in our love for each other and Jesus. Practical clothes, but attractive too.

What a great outfit to wear for the holiday season.