So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Clothing is a very interesting thing. I have been married over 23 years and have had a daughter for 18 of those years (two daughters for the past 9 years). And every year on birthdays or at Christmas, I go shopping for my wife and daughters. I somehow forget to remember that they really don’t like it a whole lot when I buy them clothes without another female member of the family accompanying me. Why? Because they like clothes with a certain look and fit and I just don’t understand that much. In fact, I get made fun of a little bit (in good humor) for liking a certain brand of clothes myself that are not really in style anymore. I get these at an outlet mall. And I am told they are “old man clothes”. Apparently I am getting old? Who knew?

When we think about clothes in our world, we can tell a lot about someone by the clothes they wear, how they wear them, etc. One time, a relative of mine was playing basketball and he thought it would be cool to wear his shorts halfway down his backside. I didn’t like this look, as he was showing off too much of his underwear — and it was a look of kids who were, in my opinion, promiscuous and rebellious. So I called this out during warmups in a vocal way and asked him to “pull his pants up”. Let’s just say that didn’t happen again.

Some clothes support certain parts of our body, others keep us warm, and still others protect us from the sun or cold weather. By someone’s clothes we can tell what sports teams, musical groups, vacation spots, products, TV shows, or movies they like. The phrase “been there, got the T-Shirt” is evidence of this.

So the example of being clothed in Christ is a very interesting one with many applications. Let’s look at a few: 1) There is a certain “look” to a Christ follower. Our “life brand” is the same. It doesn’t matter our background, upbringing, or past life of sin, every Christ follower has Jesus in common, like the same type of clothes. We called each other and matched outfits! We are on the same team, with the same jerseys, and working together for each other’s success! 2) In Idaho we have snow on the ground and you have to bundle up in a warm jacket, boots, gloves and a beanie to stay warm for any length of time outside. Clothing ourselves in Jesus (being immersed and surrounded by him and his will and kingdom ways) keeps our spirits warm in righteousness as we reach out into a cold and dark world with the good news of the gospel. 3). Clothing ourselves in Jesus provides us with supportive spiritual wear, like a belt and underwear too. Some parts of our body are weak, vulnerable, tender, or personal. Spiritually speaking, Jesus protects us as we go out into the world, especially those parts of who we are that are weak and lacking. He told the Apostle Paul this very thing: “Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it [his weakness] away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’” (II Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭8‬-‭9)

The Apostle Paul concluded: “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

So today, as I clothe myself, I am going to reflect on my spiritual clothing and call out and name and claim ALL OF THE BENEFITS of being clothed in Christ!

Lord, thank you that, like clothing, you mark me and define me spiritually. Who I am and whose I am, my spiritual look and activities are all focused on you, Jesus. And you gave me teammates in life — we get to support and encourage each other and to take major spiritual ground together! May all who see me, see that my identity, my purpose, and my cause is found in Jesus Christ!