Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth;
fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil desire,
and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things' sake
the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience:
In which you also once walked, when you lived in them.
But now you also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice,
blasphemy, filthy talk out of your mouth. Lie not one to
another, seeing that you have put off the old man with
his deeds; (Colossians 3:5-9)
Before we became Christians, we walked in the sins of this world. We wore all the unclean things this world offers, because that was all we had: the filthy rags of
of life without Jesus. We wore our anger and wrath and malice proudly, along with our blasphemy and filthy talk and lies. We did not know anything different.
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things
are passed away; behold, all things are become new. ( II Cor. 5:17)
But when we are born again, we become a new creature. We are changed, and begin a transformation that continues all our lives.
With the Holy Spirit now within us, we think differently than the world does, we act differently. We are to get rid of all the old things we were once clothed
in, and put on the new things, to reflect our new lives.
Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved,
compassion, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness,
longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one
another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as
Christ forgave you, so also do you. And above all these
things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.
(Colossians 3:12-14)
We have to make an effort to put on these things, they do not come naturally to us. Humility is not a natural thing to us; nor is patience, meekness, or forgiveness.
They have to choose to practice them deliberately, with the help of the Holy Spirit, because they are not going to happen in the flesh.
As we approach the holiday season, we start thinking about what we will be wearing for this party or that event. We examine our closet, to
see what we can keep and what we may need to get rid of.
So this might also be a good time
to examine our spiritual closet as well, and ask ourselves, "What are you wearing?" Are we still wearing the anger, bitterness, and resentments of the past?
Does our talk show our new life in Christ, or our old life in the world? Do our actions honor our Lord and Savior, or are we walking in our old way of life?
Are there things that you need to get rid of, and others you
need to put on? What are you wearing?
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