Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.
Memory of the month: And they said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?" —Luke 24:32
Today's reading: DEUTERONOMY 1-3 MARK 10:32-52
Put on
My mother had an odd way of saying things at times. One of her sayings I recall is the name she gave to someone she thought was fake or not sincere. She called them 'put-ons'. She would say, "She/he is such a put-on". She had no time for someone who was a fake. Life was too short for her for the drama. She wanted things straight forward and clear-no time for foolishness.
St. Paul had no time for foolishness but he did write much about 'putting on Jesus' and putting on our 'new self'. This was to prepare us against the lust of the flesh or desires of the flesh. He didn't like 'put-ons' either. Folks with a fake faith or religiosity about them got no respect from Paul.
Colossians 2:23
Such restrictions indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-prescribed worship, their false humility, and their harsh treatment of the body; but they are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.
In place of being fake Paul told us to put on Christ. He had studied Job and had heard him say,
"I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; justice was my robe and my turban." Job 29:14
Paul wrote:
Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. Romans 13:14
"For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ." Galatians 3:27
"...and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness". Ephesians 4:24
"...and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator." Colossians 3:10
Paul wrote to encourage folks to walk with Jesus and be the people God intends for them to be-to be like Jesus-to wear Jesus always so we could:
worship in truth-
walk in righteousness and justice-
not gratify the flesh in sin-
know God's true holiness-
be renewed in knowledge of God's true image.
There will always be those who wear a mask to protect themselves from either sickness or discovery. There will always be false faces and pretenses. God loves these people, too, and Jesus died for them all. It is all the more important for us not to be false. If we are saved, Paul says we have put on Jesus and that we should continue to put on or seek righteousness as we take up our crosses daily and follow Him daily. If we do not, we have put on a false face before the world. Why?
Are we afraid of being discovered? Are we afraid that the world around us will persecute us in some fashion? It is a myriad of reasons but the truth is that we are not in touch with the love of God.
There is nothing that God would not do to reach the lost. The proof is in the death of Jesus for all of us. To put on Jesus is to live that love out before a lost world. Anything else is a mask to hide our Lord from them. This is hard to hear for some, but the truth is the truth is that living for Jesus means we will stop at nothing to see the lost saved by His blood and born of the Spirit of God. Anything else means we are 'put-ons'-fake.
Jesus cut through all the fake stuff when He said,
"37 But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one." Matthew 5:37
Jesus said to keep it simple and true. Say what you mean and make sure it is from our righteous God. Everything else is sin. Period.
We must be the person Christ created when we were born again...there is time and God is merciful and loves us completely and forgives entirely.
...because He loves us...
Father In Heaven,
Forgive me for being fake. Let me use the courage You have given me to wear Jesus all the time.
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