New Wardrobe

Lately I have been so enthralled in the Message version of Colossians 3. I always seem to stumble upon it when I'm just flipping through. Hope you get as much out of it as I have! Or more :D

* So if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursure the things over which Christ presides. Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with things right in front of you. Look up, be alert to what's going on around Christ-- that's where the action is. See things from HIS perspective.
Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life-- even though invisible to spectators-- is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you'll show up too-- the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ.
And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That's a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. It's because of this kind of thing that God is just about to explode in anger. It wasn't long ago that you were doing all that stuff and not knowing any better. But you know better now, so make sure it's all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk.
Don't lie to one another. You're done with that old life. It's like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you've stripped off and put in the fire. Now you're dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with His label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete. Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and irreligious, insider and outsider, uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. From now on everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ.
So chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear LOVE. It is your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.
Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ- the Message- have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives-- words, actions, whatever-- be done in the name of the Master Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way. *


That's just the first half of the chapter. It grips my heart every time I read it. Especially the part about letting the former things of us be gone for good, irritability included! Ouch.
I just love the analogy of the wardrobe. Love is our all-purpose garment. It should be worn in sunshine, wind, rain. No matter what's going on in our lives, we should never forget to add Love to our outfit.

Update: I am NOT going to Bolivia. Crazy, but true. God has given me an amazing opportunity to take a weekend off and see Hillsong United, then laze around a lake for a couple days. I feel like it's an answered prayer for rest and also for renewal. I don't think there's a worship experience better than Hillsong! So thank you for saying some prayers for me-- God has answered in His own wonderful way!