What do Jesus Followers Wear?

By Gary Keith, Lead Pastor

Each morning I wake up and make a very important decision – “What will I wear today?” When it comes to clothes, I like to buy my own and make my own choices about what to wear. So making that decision is one I’ve been making for decades.

Most days making that choice is a fairly simple one. I realize for women it might be a bit more complicated, but for us men most of the time it’s just routine. But then there are those days when I stand in my closet and can’t decide. And it’s those days that I find myself wondering, “Did I make a good choice? Do I look okay today?”

This probably sounds silly to some of you, but I know for others choosing the right clothes is essential to your vocational success. But have you ever asked yourself, “What do I put on as a Jesus follower?” Now obviously I’m not referring to clothes (although I do think what clothes Jesus followers wear is very important), but right now I want us to think about something different. I want us to think about being the kind of person who reflects Jesus.

Think with me about that as we read something Paul wrote in Colossians 3:12, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” Okay, so Paul says we are to clothe ourselves with much more than the garments we wear on our bodies. He says we are to clothe ourselves with a certain attitude and behavior that reflects the one we follow, Jesus. Let’s look at these five things Paul says we are to be clothed with.

Compassion – When you think of compassion, simply think of it as loving with your guts. It’s a response of love to someone who needs to know that someone cares and is willing to love him or her.

Kindness – Think of kindness as loaning your strength to someone else. It is responding to someone who may be different than you by offering him or her something you have.

Humility – This is where you see yourself as you really are in relationship to others and to God. Someone once said it’s not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.

Gentleness – This is a decision that says, “My relationship with you is more important than my dominance in your life.” It’s a response that “gears down” so that your concern is for what’s best for the other person.

Patience – Think of patience as a decision to go the speed of another person. I know that for me to have patience I must slow down and move at the pace of the person I want to love for Jesus.

Paul has more to say about what clothes we are to put on and we’ll talk more about that next month. But for now join me in making a decision to not only put on physical clothes, but to also clothe yourself with these five qualities and let’s see how our passionate pursuit of LIFE in Jesus is changed.