Christ — Our Everything

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ… Romans 13:14a NKJV.

Dress the part!  Dress for success!  We’ve all heard those quotes.  But, does it really work?  Well actually it does, as many studies have proven.  Nancy Lublin founded an organisation called Dress for Success, and they’ve since helped millions of women transition from welfare to work.  Their key is dressing the part.

It’s well known that we feel the way we are dressed.  For example, those who work from home, have a better frame of mind, are in a more positive head space, and do better work when they dress for work, rather than just work all day in their pyjamas.  (However some people like working in their PJ’s.  Just be careful if you’re doing a Zoom call and you stand up!).

I agree with that.  I’ve had seasons of working from home, and I mostly dressed in my work clothes, (after I learnt the lesson) then at the end of the day, I’d go the short distance from my office to the bedroom and get changed.  It helped with the mindset.

• Work clothes = work mindset.
• Casual around-home clothes = work is finished, now its home time!

But should we dress who we want to be?  There’s some value in that.  Or should we dress who we are?  Therein is the greater value.

I’ve been thinking about this of late.  I think it is much more important to dress who we already are!  The Apostle Paul urges us to put on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Why?

Because in Him, we have everything we need.  In Him we become all we should be.  Jesus endured the Cross, so that in Him we might enjoy everything He had.

Right now, there are many, maybe some of you who are in a very difficult place, financially, with your job, your future, your home, health, relationships, your ministry, everything.  This is exactly the time when Jesus and His Word can become everything to us.  Instead of the everything getting on top of us, Jesus wants to be our everything!

But here’s the thing — and this is important; Christ is everything, for the future and for now.

A man once booked a cruise for himself and his family.  The cruise lasted a number of days.  Towards the end of the cruise the man was talking with a fellow passenger.  “Have you enjoyed the cruise?” he was asked.  “Yes I have” he replied.  “But I would have enjoyed it more if my family and I were able to afford some of the sumptuous meals that have been served in the dining room.  I must admit, watching the other passengers tuck in to that wonderful food makes me quite envious” he said. 

“What do you mean?” asked the first man.  “All the meals are included in the price of the ticket.  Didn’t you know that?”  “What?”  he asked!  “You must be joking!  For the past few days my family and I have been existing on peanut butter sandwiches!  No one told us the meals were part of the package”. 

Humorous though tragic story.  If you don’t discover who you are in Christ and your inheritance in Christ you will never be empowered for life.

You will be a peanut butter Christian.  You’ll get there but miss the joy of the journey.

Know this: when your ticket was paid for on Calvary 2,000 years ago, full provision was made for the entire journey of your Christian life!  His Name is Jesus Christ!  (From This is the Life, by Ken Legg).

Every day we put on our clothing.  It gets worn, dirty, and we soon smell bad.  But when we put on Christ, He does not wear out, He does not get dirty and He even gives us a sweet aroma.

When we put on Christ, do we understand what we have?  Do we understand Who we now have covering us, and enveloping us?

We read of the Apostle Paul who wrestles with a thorn in the flesh.  He cries out to God for it to be removed, but God doesn’t.  God just says to him,  “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”  Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 NKJV.

God’s grace was right there in Paul’s weakness.  God’s ability!  God’s power.  Amazing.  When we come to the end of ourselves we come to the beginning of God.  Sometimes in the purposes of God, we must come to the end of ourselves, the end of our resources, and in effect be crushed, so that we have nothing; no strength, no resources, no anchor, no self.  So that it can then be all of God.  God steps in.  His power is evident.  He does it.

I once used to sing in a group; we were called The Maranatha Singers!  One song we sang was simply; Jesus is the answer, for the world today, above Him there’s no other, Jesus is the way.  It is true!

So put on the Lord Jesus Christ.  Every day.

Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Romans 6:4 NKJV.

To put on Christ, is to put on His resurrection power.  God’s omnipotence raised Christ from the dead.  That same power (Christ in us) is with us moment by moment.

Dressing how we want to feel will only deliver temporary change.  Only truth thinking, will do it.  Only putting on Christ, being in Him, only a life filled with and surrendered to Christ, will do it.  Only in Him, are we able to grow into maturity, into perfection and walk in the newness (the new state of life in which the Holy Spirit places us) of life.

Surrender is the only way!  Here it is again; Self is always the problem — surrender is always the answer.

So as we daily and hourly and moment by moment, put on Christ, let’s surrender to Him as we do that.  Surrender opens the door to His power.  Then our walk won’t be weak, but strong!