24th June 2023
Putting on Jesus
Some verses in the Bible are hard to understand. For example, I’ve never really known what to do with Romans 13:14, which says we are to put on or clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ. I know how to put on clothing and makeup, though admittedly not very well. I can put butter on my toast and I can put on weight (et tu?), but I’ve never figured out how to put on Christ. Then I started reading The Great Omission by Dallas Willard and came across a chapter called “Looking Like Jesus.”
The goal of a disciple of Jesus, he says, is to live a life of faith and love from heaven, which is the natural fulfillment of the life in Christ. He goes on to say while entering into this life “is in one sense a result of God’s presence within us, the New Testament also describes a process involved in our ‘putting on’ the Lord Jesus Christ.” He calls the three aspects of doing this a golden triangle, because they are as precious as gold to a disciple of Jesus.
I mentioned the first one last time in relation to trials: faithful acceptance of everyday problems. It may take some time to do as James admonishes us, to count it all joy when we have trials, but we can start with awareness of how we respond to irritations, discomfort and the myriad troubles we encounter each day. We can then determine where we need to improve and up our equanimity quotient.
Jesus lived his life with faithful acceptance of everyday problems. The calluses on his hands from using the carpenter’s tools showed his family and friends he was no stranger to hard work and he may have hit his thumb once or twice. In his life, he put into practice all he taught. Willard said, “In the trials of his everyday existence, in family and village life, he verified the sufficiency of God’s care for those who simply trust him and obey him.” His sufficiency is there for us too. May we continue learning to trust and obey.
Study by Tammy Tkach
First published on 30 May 2023, at www.gemsofgodsgrace.wordpress.com
About the writer:
Tammy Tkach is the Assistant Pastor of the Eugene, Oregon, USA congregation. She is a speaker and writer, and publishes a blog at www.gemsofgodsgrace.wordpress.com
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