TODAY we are thinking about clothing ourselves in the nature of Christ.

In the Bible, Colossians 3:12-13 says: “Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”

What is your idea of “heaven on earth”? How many of us would say “the church”? And yet, where else will we see the presence of God manifest in our midst, if not in a community of ordinary people who have put their trust in Jesus and are being transformed daily into his likeness?

Hence, the apostle Paul’s passionate plea for us to remove the “dirty old clothing” of impurity, greed, anger and slander, and to put on our “new clothing” of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience.

Where should we place these items of clothing? May I suggest we put on compassion over our eyes, asking God to grant us eyes that perceive the difficulty and pain of others. And let’s put on kindness over our mouth, allowing everything we say to pass through the filter of “is it kind?”

Let’s wrap humility around our head, that our thinking might be less of ourselves and more of others, and place a coat of meekness over our back and shoulders, that the gentle strength of deference to others would be our protection.

And finally, let’s cover our feet with patience, that we might not rush around so much but learn to move a little more slowly and considerately.

May our church communities be sanctuaries of warmth and hope, in which these new patterns of behaviour, so ably modelled by our Lord Jesus, are nurtured and celebrated.

Kevin Prinsloo

Pastor, White River Community Church