Taking Off

Photo courtesy of deluxecleanersbirmingham.com

Doing laundry is an interesting venture with three little children in the house.  I've found acorns in pockets, bouncy balls and finger puppets in hampers, and seem to find an endless supply of pajamas that have only been worn once (even with incessant reminders that pajamas need ONLY be washed if they have a stain on them or have been worn multiple nights).  But perhaps the most unusual thing I've found in the laundry was a pair of shorts jammed inside a pair of leggings.

This was found the day after we enjoyed some cooler weather, a day when I recall asking my 4-year-old daughter (at the time) that instead of shorts, she really ought to wear a pair of leggings under her tunic top.  So, instead of taking OFF the shorts, she must have simply put on the leggings over top!  I cringed at how uncomfortable this must have been for her--to walk (or waddle) around with a pair of shorts all wadded and bunched up under her tight-fitting leggings--poor thing!

And this got me thinking...

You see, what I had failed to explain to my daughter was that she ought to first take OFF the shorts and then put ON the leggings.  But the Scriptures are very clear on this point.  Let's read in Ephesians 4:22-24...

"You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."

It is clear that before we put on Christ-like attributes like righteousness and holiness, we first need to put OFF our old self and our former way of sinful living.

Colossians 3:5-14 goes into a bit more detail, as it more fully describes the old nature, the new nature, and gives us more direction about how we ought to clothe ourselves...

"Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.  But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.  Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator....Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."

How would our lives change if we went with God's dress code?

How much more free would we live and move if we took OFF our old self BEFORE we put on the new?

And as Ephesians described (4:22-24), this process of taking off and putting on begins with the renewal of our minds--by taking in God's Word and humbly submitting to its authority in our lives.  It is a cooperative process as we submit to the Spirit's work in our hearts, and one that, for me, is difficult to understand.

But one thing that I can understand, which was comically illustrated for me while sorting the laundry, is that we need to confess our sin and repent from our old nature BEFORE we can even hope to be transformed into the likeness of Christ and enjoy our new nature!  Let us never forget the critical role of confession and repentence in the sanctification process!

Let us never forget to TAKE OFF...before we PUT ON!