What clothing we wear
is very important. We all want to clothe or attire ourselves
appropriately and look our best everyday. If we do, we feel that we
look well and good and we go through the day with joy and confidence
that others will welcome our presence.
The Lord Jesus wore a
special attire unusually nice that the soldiers scrambled to possess
and own it when he was crucified. This eloquently shows that Jesus
cares about what we wear. He is our example in everything, even in
our clothes. But He is more concerned about what we “put on”
spiritually.
Colossians 3 lists some
of the spiritual “clothings” or virtues or
characteristics with which we should put on or clothe
ourselves every day.
The Apostle Paul said:
“Since God chose you
to be the holy people whom he loves, you must clothe
yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness,
and patience. You must make allowance for each other’s faults and
forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you,
so you must forgive others. And the most important piece of
clothing you must wear is LOVE. Love is what
binds us all together in perfect harmony”. (Col. 3:12-14 NLT).
What is this so-called
love? The Apostle Paul attempted to define love in the following
manner:
“Love is patient,
love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude. It is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it
keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but
rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always
trusts, always hopes, always perseveres (or endures).
Love never fails. x x
x
And now these three
remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is
love. Follow the way of love xxx” (1 Cor. 13:4-8; vs. 13;
14:1 NIV)
Have you ever come
across someone who never failed you? The reason is genuine or true
LOVE!
On the matter of
protection because of love, I have a very recent
experience. After our fellowship at the Royal Mandaya Hotel in Davao
City, Philippines, last Saturday, my Chevrolet Korean small car would
not start. Not even the faintest sound of the engine or horn. The
battery was completely “dead”.
I called for my
nephew-driver, George, who brought along a battery. The engine
revived, and I instructed him to bring the car to my client’s
rebuilding and assembly plant for complete “diagnosis” of its
defect, on the following day, Sunday, because the plant of my client
opens on Sundays, the owner being a Seventh Day Adventist member, and
it has a special diagnostic machine for the purpose.
At about 9:00 on Sunday
morning, I tried to check through telephone from my client what was
the “diagnosis” on the defect of the car. The Secretary answered
that my car was not brought to their plant yet. So I checked by
cellphone my nephew’s whereabouts.
It was the wife who
answered who said my nephew “forgot” or left his cellphone
because he was hurrying to leave early to go to the plant of my
client which is about 20 kilometers away from their house. It was
already about 9:30 a.m., when I called again my client to check
whether my nephew already arrived. The answer was negative. I was
told that anyone needing check-up or repair will pass through their
office because a job order is needed. I requested her anyway to go
inside the plant again in case the protocol was not
followed simply because I am their lawyer. The feedback was still
negative!
Suspecting that the car
must have stopped somewhere along the way due to its unexplained
defect, I requested the driver of Atty. Susan, my daughter, bringing
with him her Montero to check along the way from Davao City to the
plant of my client where my car stopped, but he had to pass by the
house of my nephew to get his cellphone for easier contact purposes.
Lo and behold, I was told that my nephew was asleep!
I discovered that the
wife of my nephew made a cover-up story to protect him! I surmised
that the wife fervently loves her husband, so she told
a lie, similar to what Rahab, the harlot, have done to protect the
two spies sent to Jericho preparatory to the Israelite’s conquest
of the promised land. Significantly, the genealogy related by Matthew
in Matthew 1:5 shows that Rahab became the ancestor of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
The car was brought to
the plant that same morning and in a matter of minutes, I received a
feedback from my nephew that after a thorough check-up by the use of
the special machine from Korea, the defect was only the battery.
Praise God!
When my nephew handed
to me the car, I told him, “You better give a gift to your wife for
shielding (or protecting) you in telling me a lie that you have left
earlier although the truth was that you were still asleep”. “As
a prize for her fervent love and loyalty to you” I told him, “give
the rice cooker” (which I got from another client) as gift to her.
In addition, I gave her a cash gift for their Christmas celebration.
His wife and family, I am sure, had a Merry Christmas! Instead of
reprimanding the wife, the gifts speak volumes of my Christlike
love for her and her family circle. Praise God!
The signs of LOVE are:
mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience and
forgiveness which should be our spiritual
clothing every moment of the day. May I add, but not
dogmatically, because of LOVE, some people have to tell a lie to
protect someone for a good purpose, just like in the
case of Rahab.
When we wear these
spiritual clothings, we will deal properly with situations that
arise, our human relationship will be strengthened, and we will have
the good feeling that comes with knowing we are pleasing our
fellowmen and more importantly the Lord God/Jesus Christ who is God
incarnate (or in person or God in the flesh),
in whom we have our being and the only Savior of our soul.
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