Weekly Devotional: The clothes of Christ (12 in Romans series)

The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Romans 13:11–14 (NIV)

Although Paul’s conversion story was dramatic, as we explored last time, we see in his writing that he acknowledges the continuing process of sanctification that followers of Christ engage in throughout their lives. Paul uses the active forms of verbs when describing that we put on the new self and take off the old self in Ephesians 4:22–24, as he does here when saying that the Roman Christians should “clothe themselves with the Lord Jesus Christ” (v.14). Just as we get dressed daily, so should we “put on” the clothes of Christ.

Do you ever consider what these clothes may be? We see in verse 12 they are described as the “armor of light” that we can don as our culture becomes increasingly dark and troubled. Paul gives us other images of Christ’s clothes in his letter to the Colossians, for he says, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Colossians 3:12).

Let’s consider some of these. When we put on compassion, we’re putting ourselves in someone else’s shoes – the roots of the word, after all, mean “to suffer with.” Kindness is obvious, but easy to withhold, for example when we fear our act of kindness might be rejected or misunderstood. Can we wear this virtue without worrying about how it will be perceived? Humility is neither viewing ourselves as nothing nor as too much – we see that we are made in God’s image and so are priceless, but we also know we are sinful and need his grace and mercy every day.

I invite you to wear the most beautiful clothes ever!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I want to take off the rags of bitterness and anger and put on the royal robe that you give me. I know I am your beloved child; help me to live out of that identity this day.