September 10-12, 2010
Colossians 3
Cammie Wilson
I love the feeling that you get when you wear a new outfit for the first time. I don’t know why exactly…perhaps it’s the newness of the clothes; or maybe it’s because they’re fresh, clean and crisp. Whatever the reason, I like the way I feel when I am in them - smart and ready to go! I have a new confidence and an extra bounce in my step! Now I know you’re probably thinking, “She’s such a girl!” Well, as a matter of fact, I am. Yet I think there’s probably a great deal of men that feel the same way.
In Colossians 3:9 and 10, the Apostle Paul describes our “old self” and “new self” in terms of “taking off” and “putting on,” as if he is describing clothing: “Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”
His description gives the image of perhaps actually taking off a garment that is no longer desirable…perhaps it’s dirty, torn, mismatched or odorous. The words “since you have taken off your old self with its practices” tell me that this is a decision and an action that I have to consciously make on my part. I have to decide to take off “my old self,” or that which is no longer desirable. It cannot be done for me. I have to make the choice myself. After all, God designed us to have a free will.
Paul then wrote, “…and to put on the new self.” This also indicates that action has to be made by me. No one else can make it for me. I have to make a conscious decision and take action, by putting on this new garment that has been provided for me. I have to make a deliberate choice to wear the fresh, crisp, new clothing, as opposed to the old, dirty (although it may be quite comfortable and familiar) clothing. This decision and action cannot be made by anyone other than me.
Should I choose to put it on, this new garment will never wear out. It’s new every morning. It’s always crisp and clean. It comes with great love, beauty, revelation and power. It also comes with correction, redirection and surrender, since it is a garment that embodies yielding to Christ, so that I may become more like Him.
My question is this: What garment are you going to wear? It’s your choice! No one can decide for you. My prayer is that we all choose this new outfit that has been lovingly woven and prepared just for us.
It’s the perfect fit, every day.
For Cammie, who serves as Grace Covenant’s new Women’s Ministries Director, a favorite Bible verse is Hebrews 3:13 - “Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that you will not be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”
