In fact, I don’t like shopping much at all except for my kids at Christmas time and when their active play puts holes in their jeans a lot sooner than growth spurts put their shirts into storage. My unconcern with staying in style means that my personal wardrobe consists mostly of items given to me by my mom and sister who enjoy using their fashion sense to help me out.
So it comes as a huge blessing to find out that my Heavenly Father is also intent on helping me dress in style—heaven’s style! My wonderful Daddy tells me in His Word that He’s selected the right wardrobe for me. His tags don’t read Calvin Klein or Levi Strauss. His handmade garments come crafted by the Holy Spirit. Eugene Peterson, in The Message Bible, translates Colossians 3:12-14 this way:
So chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgiven an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.
These qualities are reflective of the fruit of the Spirit. And there’s more:
God has given us “the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness” (Is 61:3).
“He has clothed me with the garments of salvation…the robe of righteousness.” (Is 61:10).
He has also provided the right shoes so we can be “shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace” (Eph 6:15).
Eugene Peterson offers us an even more spectacular picture in his translation of Ephesians 5:26-27 where he writes, “Christ’s love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything He does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant in holiness.”
Wow. I want to be dressed in Christ’s wardrobe every day. And that means spending time with Him, letting His presence drape me with the robes of compassion, mercy, and grace.
We abide in God's presence as we lift our thoughts up to Him—every worry, every fear, every hurt, every need, every delight. When we do this, our entire thought life is transformed into communion with God. And that transformation affects far more than our thoughts. It influences the whole of our personality, attitude, actions, and demeanor.
The psalmist wrote, “In Your presence is fullness of joy, at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11). Dressing in our new wardrobe--the one created for the new "us"--fills us with incredible delight in our Heavenly Father who sees all that we need and gives us His very best.
F.F. Bruce declares with laughter, “God’s peace is joy resting. His joy is peace dancing.” Yes, Holy Spirit, weave faith, hope, and love into my tunic of salvation so that it sparkles with glorious, insuppressible joy and peace!!!
