
Today I read a passage where I'm told to change more often...
"..seeing that you have stripped off the old self...and have clothed yourselves with the new self." (Col 3:9-10 NRSV)
Stripping and clothing. That's a choice I need to make everyday. Actually, I need to make it many times each day. Thoughts come to mind, decisions need to be made, actions must be taken...and I must choose to either respond with my "new self" or my "old self". It is a choice I must make. No one can make it for me.
All too often I don't make the right one and I act according to my "old self". When I leave my "old self" on, my relationships, ministry and heart suffers.
Other times I choose to strip off the "old" and clothe myself with the "new" that God is creating. It's amazing how different my perspective is when I live with my "new self" on.
Then there are those times when I make the choice to strip off the "old" but I never choose to put on the "new". I end up like the emperor who had no clothes on. I think a lot of people live 'naked'.
Despite what my wife may think...I need to change more often.