Thank you, service men and women, for being our greatest example of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
I admit I'm a bit quirky at times. I have many odd pet peeves such as walking on carpet with my bare feet, eating breakfast within an hour of waking up ( no sooner, no later), and always having a drink in my car while driving. Always. One of my biggest pet peeves however, would be dressing appropriate for the occasion. If I'm considering a nap, I will change into jammies to take an hour nap and change back into day clothes when I wake. If I'm cleaning the house, I like to put on my workout clothes. It gets me pumped to take on the task. The moment I'm home from work, I change into comfy clothes. It helps me wind down from the day. My husband is the polar opposite. He will put on work clothes in the morning, come home after his day job and work on the patio, have dinner, then relax on the couch, in the SAME clothing as he started his day with! Drives me nuts. I can't even relax with him on the couch until he changes into comfy clothes. He grudgingly obliges. So, what's the deal with this "peeve" of mine? What's the importance of the type of clothing you wear? I think we can find a deeper meaning.
"Clothe" means to put clothes; to provide clothing. It's a verb. A verb, for those who've forgotten, is an "action" word, something you do. In the same way that I tend to change clothing for the appropriate occasion of the day, we need to be sure we are clothed for the service God asks of us. He tells us to "clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." The means a couple things to me. First off, the words before this command, tell me that there must be a condition in our lives before we can even attempt to follow the latter command. We must first choose to believe we are chosen, holy and dearly loved. Upon believing that, we are then to clothe ourselves (OUR job, not God's) with the tools he has freely given us to carry out this Christian life: compassion, kindness, humility,gentleness and patience.
In this day and age, we want instant gratification. We want things to fall in our lap without too much effort on our part. In marriages, spouses are giving up because their "happily ever after" involved work. Parents are letting their kids run rampant because they'd rather go out with their friends on Friday night then spend a night with their teen, to assure they're in a safe place. Relationships are work. As in any relationship, it doesn't work one-sided and it's no different with God. He's not going to let us off the hook and expect Him to do the work. Not because He's a creator on a power trip, but because He knows the benefit we will reap when we take up our own cross, put in the work, and follow Him.
We change along the way. We become humble under the weight of our crosses. His commands always come to us for our good. They always come as a result of something he's already given to us, and now wants us to give back. Re-read the verse for today. Now, look below and see it defined, through the dictionary. See if it doesn't make it a little more personal. The dictionary can be the Bible's best companion.
"You are God's object of choice; of divine favor. For that reason, put on a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for others, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate that suffering. Put on a friendly feeling, the act of not being prideful. Be considerate. Be tolerant and understanding."
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