“Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience…” Co3.12
A friend once shared with me a fitting description of justification. When he would go wake his son and tell him to dress for kindergarten, the little boy would lay there and sleepily reply, “No. You.” In other words, daddy would you dress me. We are commanded to be perfect even as our Father in heaven is perfect. And, like a child we confess to Him, “No. You.” In other words, Father do for me what I cannot do for myself. We ask that God clothe us with the perfect righteousness of Christ as our only hope of acceptance.
Now these words are a fitting description of justification but are they for sanctification? Once God has declared us perfect in Christ and adopted us into His family, He tells us to get dressed each morning with the virtues befitting a member of His family. Is it still proper to say, “No. You dress me.“ I think not. He offers to help us get dressed but now as His child we must grow up and dress ourselves with the clothes He has provided. I think it important to say that God is not telling us to put on these qualities in order to be His child but because we are. He has dressed us in justification, he now tells us to dress ourselves in sanctification. We may be tempted to say, “No, you dress me.“ How might He reply? Perhaps something like this, “No, you get dressed. I will help but get out of bed and put on kindness, humility, meekness, and patience…” 3/16/07 ts
