What clothes did you put on today?

12The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.¹³ Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. ¹⁴ Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. Romans 13:12-14

Some people who wake up early see the sun rise most every day.  There is a soft glow in the sky that begins to overtake the darkness.  The whole sky turns from black to purple then to a blue.  The light focuses intently toward the big ball of fire that is about to appear.  Typically one more moment of cold scurries past just before the tip of the sun crest the horizon.

We know what a sunrise looks like, but we are ignorant of the end of times and the coming of the Lord. His coming is sooner than we think.  Paul says that the day is almost here.  What has happened in the dark will be full exposed.  There will be no more hiding or excuses.  Light will shine on all things.

Satisfying our flesh is synonymous with hiding our sinful deeds in the cloak of darkness.  If light is coming, we need to be doing and living as children of light.  Paul says that behavior should be decent.  It should be fitting as a child of God.  He mentions 3 main behaviors.  Drunkenness, debauchery and carousing are all cousins that reflect lack of self-control and addiction.  Sexual immorality reflects desire to use people for personal gratification which is the opposite of love.  Dissension and jealousy reflect our quickness to judge and compare others.  We are so drawn to divide instead of being unifiers.  He says that we should STOP thinking how to gratify ourselves.

We are to clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ.  When we get dressed in the morning, we want to look our best and be coordinated in colors. You would be amazed at how much the scriptures reference clothing.  Robe of Righteousness – don’t allow it to cover unconfessed sins.  Feet ready for the gospel- Shoes ready at all times to follow the leading of the Spirit to the lost and needy.  Helmet of salvation – guarding your thoughts and focused for the task at hand.  So what did you put on today?

Father, thank you that clothing is important.  You have provided at the spiritual clothing that we would need for the day.  Help us to notice when we are focusing on gratifying the flesh in our lives.  We want to make sure that our thoughts are always heavenward.  In Jesus Name, Amen.