WEEK 42 – DAY 5

October 22, 2021

CLOTHED IN CHRISTLIKENESS

Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, 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 ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. Colossians 3:12-14

Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, 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 ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. Colossians 3:12-14

I saw some women from India wearing gorgeous, silken saris. They were completely wrapped in the luxurious cloth, literally clothed in beauty. The verse above tells us we should be clothed in the virtues of Jesus Christ. Just as we consciously put on the armor of the Lord (see Ephesians 6), we should, also, don compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. This cannot be done in our own strength. Jesus must robe us in His righteousness. We are to forgive as the Lord forgave us. He forgave us completely on the cross even though we were not deserving and had not yet asked forgiveness. He did not wait for us to earn His forgiveness, nor should we demand a changed life of our brothers or sisters before we extend forgiveness. Remember the saris the women were wearing? Let me share the definition of sari with you:

sari – Asian woman’s garment – a traditional garment worn by women in or from the Indian subcontinent, consisting of a long rectangle of fabric reaching the feet, wrapped and pleated around the waist over an underskirt and choli, and draped over the shoulder.

ENCARTA DICTIONARY

Love is to be our sari, worn over all the other virtues of Christ. The love of Christ emanating from us will catch the eye of many who need to know Him as those saris caught my eye. Allow Jesus’ love to flow from you like the beautifully flowing silk of a sari, and He will draw people into His family through you.

Father, clothe us in the righteousness of Christ. Help us to be compassionate, kind, humble, gentle and patient. Help us to forgive as Jesus forgave us, and help us to exude the beauty of Your love.