What’s Your Old Shirt?

Do you have a favorite old comfortable shirt that you have wore for ages?  Is it broken in and comfortable and you can’t bear to throw it away even though it is an eyesore?

For me, it is my college t-shirt.  It used to say Austin Peay, but after several washings it now says Ustin Peay.  It is faded to the point that I can’t even tell what the original color was, but it is comfortable.  I like to wear it when I lounge around the house, or when I work out.  It is a part of me that is hard to give up.

Did you know that God is concerned about our wardrobe?  He cares what clothes we wear, because people recognize us by them.  Colossians 3:12-14 (MSG) states, “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 forgive 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.”

When we accepted Christ, we became a new creation.  He picked a whole new wardrobe for us to wear and his clothes look vastly different than the ones we are comfortable wearing.  We like to wear our shirt of gossip, but that is not in Christ’s wardrobe.  We wear our vest of anger, but Christ says the vest of kindness looks much better on us.

The problem with wearing these old clothes is that people recognize us by the clothes we wear.  Think about it; if I do a drastic makeover and get all new clothes, some people will have trouble recognizing me.  They will say things like “Wow Sean, you look different.  You have changed!”  What happens if I slip on my old college shirt one day?  Then I become the old Sean again and become recognized as that old person.  We are a new creation and we need to take a good look at ourselves and see whose clothes we are wearing.

What is one “garment” that you are holding on to and what does Christ want you to replace it with?

Have a Nice Trip

We recently had some friends over at our house for some fellowship time.  When they got ready to leave, one of our friends was walking down the stairs and tripped and took a tumble into our foyer.  This scenario has happened to me many times and I have learned from experience that there are basically two reactions when someone stumbles and falls.

Upon seeing someone fall the initial reaction is to make sure that the person is not hurt.  You ask questions like “Are you okay?” and “What do you need?”  If they indicated that everything is indeed alright, then the second reaction comes in… laughter.

This makes me ask the question, “What is it about us that likes to see others stumble?”  Deep down inside do we really want to see others struggle?  Does it make us feel better about our own struggles or is it just easier to move on and hide our pain if we laugh it off?

I wonder how many people have masked their pain after they stumble.  They think that by hiding how hurt they really are, the less attention they will attract.  Why do we try to hide how hurt we really are?  Is it pride, or is pain just plain uncomfortable to deal with and really uncomfortable to share?  For many people, it is easier to hide pain than to seek help.  It’s kind of like falling and never really getting back up to your feet.

We have become a society that loves to see people stumble.  News stories always tell of the latest celebrity, politician, or athlete that has taken a fall or tripped up in some way.  We even have entire television shows, like America’s Funniest Videos, that glamorize the fact that people stumble.  Have we become numb to the fact that everyone falls?

James 3:2 states “We all stumble in many ways.”

Everyone stumbles.  Everyone falls.  If we are the person watching, we can choose how we will react to the fall.  Will we lend a hand?  Will we help them to their feet?  If we are the person that falls, will we accept the hand?  Will we be honest about how hurt we are or will we choose to not get up?

God wants to use you.  Stumbling and all, but he won’t do so if you refuse to get up.

What Do You Expect?

In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.  2 Timothy 3:12 NIV

Anyone who wants to live all out for Christ is in for a lot of trouble; there’s no getting around it.  2 Timothy 3:12 MSG

In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be treated badly.  2 Timothy 3:12 NIRV

Anyone who belongs to Christ Jesus and wants to live right will have trouble from others.  2 Timothy 3:12 CEV

The question then becomes, “Do we expect to be persecuted when we follow Christ”?  If we do, then why are we always so surprised when it happens? If our Lord and Savior faced persecution on a daily basis, then why should we expect any less?  And lastly, if we are not facing some kind of persecution, are we being true followers of Christ and living a godly life?

When is the last time you were persecuted, questioned, or treated badly for your wanting to be more Christ-like?