Observation: Lots of encouragement for Christian Life. A wonderful image, not just to "be" compassionate, kind, humble, meek, patient, and loving, but to "clothe yourself" with those things.
Application: I don't do a lot of clothes shopping for myself. But often on Christmas morning, I find myself wearing an outfit of mostly new clothes, which I found under the tree.
This reading from Colossians reminds me that there are a lot of attributes Christians are supposed to just "have," as though they can just find them inside themselves. You follow Jesus, right? So why can't you just "be" more patient, kind, humble, compassionate, meek and loving? What's wrong with you that you can't do that?
We'll the thing is, that stuff isn't who we naturally are. We're human beings, not saintly superheroes. We're sinners like everyone else. We have a wonderful example of holy living in Jesus, but by ourselves, we can't imitate him. We need to be "clothed" with the things that made him special. Unless we find those gifts under the tree, from the Holy Spirit, we're not going to attain them on our own.
At Christmas, a twelve day festival celebrating Jesus' birth, we remember that God chooses to be with us. God wants to live in our presence, full of grace and truth. We remember he is the gift, and this gift is there for us every day.
It's only the sixth day of Christmas. It's Christmas Halftime. While the rest of the world moves on to the next thing, while New Year celebrations ramp up, let's continue to celebrate, reflect, open our gifts from God, and try them on. Compassion, kindness, humility, patience, meekness and love... maybe we'll grow into them this year.
Prayer: God, thank you for the gifts your Spirit gives us this Christmas and each day. Help us to open them, to try them on, to wear them proudly for the world to see. Amen.
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