Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience,
Colossians 3:12
I like Bible verses that remind me what to DO and how to BEHAVE and ACT. This one, spoken by The Apostle Paul, creates a particular visual imagery that I enjoy.
I can almost imagine physically surrounding myself with compassion or gentleness. But what does a coat of patience look like? Maybe it is bright white, clean, glowing, cool. Maybe it is as soft a rabbit fur – calming.
And when I put on, and then am wearing this coat, I am radiant. I can imagine my demeanor changing from frustrated or angry to serene. What a feeling to be “holy and dearly loved”!
In the coat, I can imagine the “me” that Jesus wants us to be. That coat is His though. I could not be those amazing things without borrowing his “clothes” of patience and compassion. We are a team, Jesus and I. He sees his teammate in trouble, he passes me “the coat”, and I need to do my part and put it on.
Choosing to be on the team a play by play, day by day decision.
During this time when we are all frustrated, anxious, or even scared of the dangers around us, I think it is a good time to practice donning our “best clothing” as we approach each gift of a day, so that we might represent the “team” with the right amount of compassion, kindness and patience. We are all God’s chosen people, and we can all try on the special clothing he offers us.
God’s Peace,
Stacey McKenna