During the pandemic, being stuck at home with no place to go, my wardrobe seemed useless and redundant. I became quite content with home clothes and nightwear and for 2 whole years made no purchase except to invest in some comfortable cotton dresses that wore well with home chores.
The covid season was freeing in one way in that I did not have to buy clothes for outside wear or break my head about using make-up or keeping up with appearances. The zoom mode needed only the upper torso, including the face, to be of acceptable standards and I guess, most of us made to do with what we had, seeing that was enough for the day. Moreover, with so many going through crises of health and loss of life, it made no sense to indulge in clothes and other stuff that is usually needed when there is a life outside the home!
With the renewal of social interaction, I needed to revamp my wardrobe having outgrown some and becoming tired of others! A change on the cards, with alacrity, I promptly but judiciously began investing in some good outside wear, making use of the flood of offers and bargains available online. I emptied half my cupboard to make way for the new, passing on to others my existing lot as they were in pretty good condition. It gave me such joy to step out of my home in my new outfits after being confined at home for 2 years!
It was marvelous to feel like a whole new creature, inside and out, and to step out into the open freely!
Apostle Paul when writing to the church at Colossae writes this: Don’t lie to one another. You’re done with that old life. It’s like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you’ve stripped off and put in the fire. Now you’re dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete. Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and irreligious, insider and outsider, uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. From now on everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ. So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it (Col 3:9-14 MSG).
These lines show us that we were once clothed in a set of old, dirty clothes but have now been granted a set of new attire because we are part of His family. Unaware this, we walk around with orphan mentality and poverty spirit, clothed in rags and not in riches. Not understanding who we are and what we have been given, we live in shame and condemnation. It is important for us to grasp this in our spirit and comprehend our estate so that we daily divest ourselves of the old and adorn ourselves with the new, specially custom-made and hand-picked for us by God.
Oftentimes, in Korean movies, I have watched a rich young man fall in love with a poor girl, and then set out to beautify her with the best he is able to buy. He leads her to showrooms once inaccessible to her and proceeds to select attire suited for her, with great care and taste. After arraying and grooming her from top toe, he escorts her to places and parties he is privy to, proudly displaying her as his beloved. Those who neglected her are put to shame by the gesture of her beloved who is now her defender. Such a picture of what God has done, is doing and will do for us!
Yet, we live according to the old fashion, spend our lives dressed in outcasts and rejects, unaware of the new one ready for use hanging in our wardrobe. We rue that we can’t be different and look wistfully at some who seem to be royal in demeanor. We don’t seem to grasp that all they have done is to lay hold of what is theirs by right and use it appropriately.
Christian living is not so much striving as it is resting in Him and claiming what is our own!
All you have to do is not walk in your own old rags of self, but strip them off and reject them when they rise up, as they seem to do every moment. Then, put on the new nature of Christ and walk royally in them, with your head help up as His son or daughter, every minute of every day!
Begin to behave according to your noble lineage and refuse to do what this world forces you to do. Any part of the day, in every instance and circumstance, reach for the new and reject the old.
Often you will be attracted to the old, for they are familiar and comfortable attire you are used to, but reject the impulse and persist in putting on the new, even when it seems hard to do so. In due course and time they will become very appealing and easy to wear. Soon you will become so acquainted with this new that you will not miss your old. Even if you slide back to the old, just turn back to the new and persevere on. Learn to enjoy your different but fresh clothing and continue on until they become part of your new normal and you are truly a new creature, in and out!
When I began dressing in my new fashion, different from my old, eyebrows were lifted and questioning looks directed at me. Yet, in due time everyone accepted me and also began complimenting me on my new style, telling me it suited me.
Don’t let any criticism or ridicule or discouragement or rejection rob you of your royal robes!
Your wardrobe has been gifted by your dear Father in heaven. People will come to accept and respect your new fashion sense in due time. So, be joyous and thrilled in the clothes fashioned from heaven!
Be and become a trendsetter with designer wear from heaven!
MULLINGSPICE 
I was thinking on the lines of learning to stepping outside comfort zones and getting acquainted with new things in life… and this popped up at the same time!
Well presented teaching!
LikeLike
Thank you! 🙏
LikeLike