Wearing our “Best Clothes”

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” (Colossians 3:12-14)

This wonderful exhortation from St Paul reminds us of how we are to conduct ourselves in the light of our place as God’s redeemed children, those who are dearly loved and who have been granted Jesus’ holiness. The word “therefore” summarises many other statements which Paul makes about our salvation. Our attitudes and actions are like our finest Christian apparel which we put on in response to all our Lord Jesus has done for us, and now calls us to do.

This Scripture passage and many others are used to guide and underpin our LCA Standards of Ethical Behaviour. As Paul spelt out for the early believers, so our church spells out for us, those behaviours which are honourable and befit our Christian calling.

This is not to be seen in a legalistic way, but a transformative way, inspired by the Holy Spirit at work within us. Our Standards tell us; “Love changes people. The experience of being loved brings with it a kind of newness that brings out the best in us. We become more open to the gifts of life and the needs of others, and we live in a new way, a renewed way. Love brings life.”

As we face times of change and adjustment in the LCA, now might be a good time to check in with the Standards and encourage each other to put on those ‘garments’.

“We will demonstrate God’s love in our personal lives, in our pastoral care for others, in our care for children and persons in vulnerable circumstances, and in the way we communicate and manage finances and administrative tasks.”

Congregations are encouraged to screen the Standards of Ethical Behaviour videos every now and then. Have your congregational members seen this video recently? To access the video and related items, please go to LCA Standards of Ethical Behaviour – Lutheran Church of Australia

Are you wearing your “best clothes?”