Dress Up

When we “clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ...”, we are “dressing up” in the things that make us more like Jesus. We must put on love, forgiveness, kindness – things like that. When people look at our lives, they will INSTANTLY know we are Christians by what they see in our lives. It’s not about the outward clothes you wear. It’s not about how you do you hair. It’s not about how you look at all. It’s about what people see in your words, actions, and character. We must “clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ” so that people will see Jesus in us! In this lesson, the children will learn what it means to “clothe yourselves with the Lord, Jesus Christ.”

When you “dress up”, you don’t take your nice good clothes and put them on over the nasty dirty ones, do you? Of course not. FIRST, you take off the nasty dirty clothes. THEN, you put on the nice clothes. That’s how we “Dress up.” Well, when we “clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ...”, we have to “take off” our old sinful ways first. We have to get rid of the sin, the bad habits, the filthy way of living we USED to have as part of our lives. Once we confess our sin to God and are forgiven, THEN we can put on the amazing new “clothes” God has for us. In this lesson, the children will learn “What NOT To Wear” so that they can clothe themselves with Christ.

The Colossian people had difficulty welcoming people that weren’t exactly like they were. So, Paul re- minded them that “In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gen- tile, circumcised or uncircumcised, bar- baric, civilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.” We can’t look down our nose at others and think we are better than they are. We can’t judge others based on where they grew up, what they look like, or anything like that. God loves EVERY- ONE the same! HE is all that matters! We have to look at others the way GOD looks at them! In this lesson, the children will learn to see others the way God sees them.

In the next verse of the passage we are learning in Colossians 3, the Apostle Paul tells us to “clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness...” These are two things that are not easy to find in today’s “me first” society. In this lesson, the children will learn from the story of Jesus healing the blind man. They will see how Jesus looked for an opportunity to show mercy and kindness to this man. In the same way, the children will learn that each of us must do our part to look for opportunities to show mercy and kindness toward others. If we clothe our selves in kindness and mercy, others will see Christ in us.

In the next verse of the passage we are learning in Colossians 3, the Apostle Paul tells us to “clothe yourselves with...humility, gentleness, and patience...” In this lesson, the children will learn how pride can be the enemy of God’s will for our lives. If we struggle with pride, we need to have an “Extreme Makeover” and replace the pride with humility, gentleness, and patience. It’s not easy to be humble. It’s more difficult to be gentle. It’s nearly impossible for today’s Christian to be patient. But, with God’s help, each of us can learn how to “clothe ourselves” with these traits so that the world can see Jesus in our lives.

Joseph had a huge opportunity. The brothers who rejected him and sold him into slavery were now standing be- fore him. He had the power to punish them for the rest of their lives or even order them to be killed. Instead, Joseph made the choice to forgive his brothers of the wrong they had committed against him. He even went a step further and blessed them and their entire families. It was not an easy decision, but Joseph did what was right. In this lesson, the children will discover that forgiveness is never easy, but it is the plan God has for His people when they are wronged. After all, Jesus forgave those who hurt Him. We can forgive those who have hurt us.

When children hear the words of Jesus, “Love one another,” they immedi- ately think that means to love those who show love to them. That is not what Jesus was teaching. We can’t just show love to each other when things are going exactly the way we want them to. We must show love to each other NO MATTER WHAT! Jesus said that the world will know we are His disciples by our LOVE for one another. In this lesson, the children will learn that we must show love to everyone—including those who hurt us, talk bad about us, and hate us. Love is what keeps the body of Christ together in perfect harmony.