Clothe Yourselves with Christ

Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. ~Romans 13:14

*The following article is an excerpt from Mikayla Briggs' book Love, Learn, Grow and was written during her college years

​During college, I worked at a store that carried everything today’s baby could ever want and more: fun toys, storybooks, bibs, and the most stylish clothes. Taking even a moment to gander around the store could give a woman instant baby fever.
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I marveled at how stylish and “in” the clothes for babies and toddlers were. Everything was so put together! The store displayed small pairs of solid-colored leggings with tops or dresses that had remnant colors of the leggings to pull everything together. Oftentimes, a matching necklace would go with the outfit, maybe even a headband or hair clip to bring it all home.

When I was a kid, we never worried about what we wore or how we looked. We threw something on and ran outside to play with the neighbor kids. If it was comfortable, flexible, and didn’t get in the way of the game, you were good to go.

Working in this store carried a nostalgic and comical aspect to it. Looking back, my fashion sense as a child was horrid (or perhaps nonexistent). To this day, my family still laughs at how tragic our senses of style were. My brother Josh’s go-to in middle school was a Hawaiian shirt, khaki shorts, loafers with tube socks pulled up to the sky, and a french beret.

At the time, I detested putting effort into my appearance. Often, I wore leggings before they were cool (literally, they weren’t cool when I wore them), a t-shirt, and rarely brushed my hair. It was a tangled rat’s nest. Other times, I wore every color imaginable; it looked like a rainbow threw up on me.

I remember this one outfit that consisted of hot pink leggings, a ridiculous, bright purple tank top, and hiking shoes. Looking back, my brother and I cringe and chuckle at our ill-advised senses of fashion.

We often wonder how in the world our mom let us walk out of the house looking like we picked out our clothes in the dark. In between the tears induced by laughter, our mother told us why she didn’t interfere with our “fashion” decisions. She wanted us to make our own choices.

Clothes are a personal expression of creativity and imagination, and while what a child puts together may not be the most trendy in a worldly sense, it’s their own. She saw the bright smiles on our faces when we ran downstairs, so proud of what we had put together. She didn’t want to discourage us, because we were so excited to exercise freedom. Today, we can sit back, laugh at our past mistakes, and appreciate how far we’ve come.

I think God does the same thing with us. Like my mother, God doesn’t jump in and make the decisions for us. Instead, He gives us gentle pushes in the right direction, yet allows us to make our own mistakes and figure things out.

While challenging, this design helps us to grow and learn life-changing lessons we would otherwise miss if God was a cosmic puppeteer and called all the shots in our lives. We live in tandem with Christ, but I don’t think He takes the front seat and allows us to sit in the background. I think He has us in the front while He sits in the back, still present in our lives, only He leans forward and offers tender whispers to direct us on the most fruitful path. From there, He hopes we will choose His sage advice for our lives because He gives us the freedom to decide.

I don’t think God looks at our past mistakes in anger or frustration. I think He sees how far we’ve come and beams upon our growth over the course of our lives with Fatherly pride. I look forward to meeting Jesus and having a good sit-down as we look back at my life on this earth. Hopefully, we’ll laugh at the many goofy mistakes I’ve made, knowing how far I’ve come.

I’ve also learned that how we clothe ourselves is a pretty good indicator of who we have the potential of becoming. This involves who and what we surround ourselves with, how we conduct ourselves, and the attitudes, behaviors, and actions we put on each day. I can attest to this; my uncommon fashion sense as a child has led me to become the beautifully weird and countercultural individual I am today.

With this in mind, let’s strive to clothe ourselves with Christ: His humility, grace, compassion, wisdom, and love. Galatians 3:27 reads, “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” Through Jesus, we are forever changed and are no longer bound by the ways of this world. We don’t have to worry about the pressure to please the world around us, be liked by others, or be perfect. Jesus has set us free, and we are now able to live as the unique, beautiful individuals He created us to be.

Friends, clothe yourselves with Christ. Forget the world. You’ll undoubtedly be trending in the Kingdom of God, for His love and grace never go out of style.

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Photocred: Unsplash