Listen

Therefore, as God’s choice, holy and loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Be tolerant with each other and, if someone has a complaint against anyone, forgive each other. As the Lord forgave you, so also forgive each other.

Colossians 3:12-13

Think

Growing in Jesus is like changing your clothes. In fact, changing clothes is one of the most important metaphors for spiritual growth in the New Testament (see Galatians 3:27 and Romans 13:14). When you decide to follow Jesus, God invites you to “wear” qualities that reflect Jesus’s character: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Honestly, though, these are not the easiest clothes to put on.

Growing in Jesus means letting God help you grow, little by little, every day. Growing in Jesus doesn’t happen overnight. It is a process of learning to choose compassion over criticism, humility over pride, and forgiveness over bitterness. It is a process of learning to live in the clothes Jesus has given us. Today, ask Jesus to help you “dress” in these qualities and live like him.

Nathaniel Aram Warne Adishian

Question to Ponder:

How might you take off the old clothes that are not uplifting to yourself or others, and put on the new clothes that Christ gives?

Pray

Lord, help me fit in the clothes that you have given me. The clothes you give are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Teach me how to wear these clothes every day. Amen.

Go

God chose us in advance to be shaped into the likeness of God’s Son, so that Jesus would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

Paraphrase of Romans 8:29