Clothes

Generation Church: May 31, 2009

Colossians 3:12 "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience."

Clothes. Duds. Sunday Best. Apparel. Frock. Garments. Gear. Get-up. Outfit. Threads. Wardrobe.

What are you wearing? What type of clothes do you like to wear? Where do you like to shop? What colors do you like wearing?

Clothes are important! (Tell me more...I'm captivated now.) They make a statement about who you are. This doesn't mean one set of clothes or style is more valid than the other, but only that we can agree that clothing is an important part of every day life.

David and Goliath. Familiar passage. Quickly: David shows up at battlefront with food for his brothers. David sees Goliath who mocks people of God. David gets righteously upset, gets permission from King Saul to fight Goliath, gathers five stones, battles Goliath and knocks him unconscious by slinging a stone, and then he cuts off Goliath's head.

How many times do you stop and think about what David was wearing? The Bible says that when David was with King Saul, King Saul wanted David to wear his armor. The armor didn't fit...they weren't made for David, they were made for King Saul. David chose not to wear the armor because he looked silly, and he wouldn't be able to fight in the oversize gear.

You won't make it if try and wear someone else's clothes! God has clothes specifically designed for you! What are some of the clothes talked about in the above verse: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. There are plenty of other garments that God has designed for us: praise, Jesus Himself, love, joy, peace, salvation, faith, word of God, etc. These are the clothes God has picked out for us.

The world though, has picked out some other clothes: bad attitudes, depression, anger, pride, shame, frustration, bitterness, etc. Regularly we are tempted to wear these clothes. We are told that we don't have a chance to survive if we don't wear these clothes.

Let's give God permission to dress us today. Let's put on the clothes He laid out. There are some Goliath's that need defeating, and we need not be weighed down by clothes that don't fit.