Best Clothing & Preparation Choices

"Be dressed for service and well prepared."

-Luke 12:35 (NLT)-

     After some time off to concentrate on health, I have had some serious one-on-one time with God and investing in studying His Word. When Scripture tells us that the Word is fully alive and life-giving, it's true! I recovered faster than I thought possible and mindful of peace, I was determined to not be deterred by conditions; God blessed me with an abundance of newfound confidence in not only who He is, but who I am, in Him. During this resting period, I came across some verses that were profound in their nature. Today's post is about one such verse: being dressed for service and being well prepared.

     Interestingly, Colossians answers both of these questions: "How are we to dress for service?" and "How are we to be well prepared?" Further in Luke, Jesus warns us that, "He may come in the middle of the night or just before dawn. But whenever he comes, there will be special favor for his servants who are ready!" (12:38, NLT).  This further illustrates the importance of the previously mentioned two questions.

    Colossians 3:1-10 tells us how to be well prepared:

"...set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ²
      Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things...
    Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry....
      But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips...
     Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices
¹⁰ and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator...
      Christ is all, and is in all.

    Colossians 3:12-17 tells us how to dress for service:

"...Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with
     compassion: sympathetic concern for the sufferings of others, mercy 
     kindness: the quality of being friendly, generous and considerate, a kind act
     humility: thinking of others better than yourself, a modest view of oneself, meekness
     gentleness: kind, tender, mild in temperment or behavior, meek
     and patience: the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble or suffering without getting angry or upset, forebearance, endurance

I really encourage you to think about these qualities: none of them are offensive or off-putting in the slightest way. Imagine if we asked the Holy Spirit to help transform us into these "clothes" rather than the ones we wear easily, and most likely, absent-mindedly: judging, negativity, anxiety, hopelessness, despair, settling, jealousy, hypocrisy, etc. What better witnesses we would be and how much more joyful we would become!

¹³ Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

¹⁵ Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

¹⁶ Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

Check out the very first word in both of these verses: let. This is both the beauty and double-edged sword of free will. We are allowed to let or shove out or reject the peace of Christ and the message of Christ. We can be scared or not think ourselves worthy. We could be like Moses and come up with many reasons why we just can't do what God is asking us to do.

Or, we could abandon that. We could truly nail our excuses to the cross and say, "Okay. Even though I don't think I'm worthy or able, You do. In Jesus' name, I accept and allow the peace of Christ to rule in my heart. I accept and allow the message of Christ to dwell among the people I am around today. Use me as a vehicle to spread your message."

Think of the impact we would make. One small wave after another, conquering. We are more than conquerors through Christ.

¹⁷ And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Now, let's be clear. This doesn't mean we're to use Jesus' name for getting away with excuses, bad behavior or justifying our actions. This means we are to prepare our hearts, minds and spirits in Christ, then put on the right clothing to better serve him. And when we serve, whether in word or deed, we do the right and good things in Jesus' name to be representatives of His character and to spread the Gospel.

We have one last teaching from Jesus in this section of Luke that is particularly intriguing both in example and instruction:

"Know this: a homeowner who knew exactly when a burglar was coming would not permit the house to be broken into. You must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected."  -Luke 12:39-40 (NLT)

Think about it this way: our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. God's Spirit of Truth dwells in us. But before He can make himself more at home in us, He's got to do some spring-cleaning. I encourage you to not resist Him when he's prompting you to give up your old attitudes and behaviors; he's transforming you more into his likeness.

Further, if you are actively working on your own "home," you are actively being led by the Holy Spirit. Perhaps you prepare at least one meal a day. Do you not take time to make sure the food is washed, and free of chemicals/pesticides? Do you not take time to prepare it with spices or oils or baking/cooking time so it is tasty? Do you not take time to make sure it is fitting to both your tastebuds and your guests or family's? This is like the preparation part that must take place in us.

Then, do you not "dress" the table? Do you not make sure it looks nice or at least has a plate or napkin on which to serve the food? Think of this example when you read this Scripture if it helps you to put it into a 3-D scenario. The next time you are cooking, ask yourself and then ask the Holy Spirit to teach you how to better prepare yourself, how to better clothe yourself. The next time you are putting food on a plate or a napkin, ask the Holy Spirit to transform you in some way with your "clothing." Do you need to work on patience? gentleness? compassion? We all have areas of work! Don't be ashamed. If anything, you are just getting more and more prepared so that when the Son of Man does arrive, you can feast with him.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for your Word which is alive and life-giving. Thank you Jesus for telling the disciples about this example, and that we are able to also learn from you today. Please help us to be honest with ourselves where we need to better prepare. Please help us to surrender to the transformative power of your Holy Spirit. God, we cannot do this without you and wholly depend on You for this to happen within and through us. Jesus, when we dress ourselves to serve, equip us. Yes, we have been given gifts that come naturally to some of us, but we are One Body and an Audience of One for a purpose that is to glorify You. Help us to not be in competition with one another, but to exhibit an attitude of grace and thanksgiving that as One Body, we are called to peace. Thank you for loving us and being our friend, Jesus. In Your name, we ask these things. Amen.