APRIL 8, 2013
Guard
Your Brand
Read: Colossians 3:1-14
Above all these things put on love, which is the
bond of perfection.
—Colossians 3:14
A
popular clothing retailer requires that its sales clerks dress like the models
in
the store windows who advertise its clothes. This practice is referred to as
“guarding
their brand.” The idea behind it is that shoppers will be more likely
to purchase clothes
because they will want to look like the people they see
wearing them.
In
a consumer-oriented culture, it’s easy to be seduced into thinking that we can
“buy” acceptance by wearing the things that beautiful people wear. Retailers
would
have us believe that looking good will make us desirable.
Sometimes
we even convince ourselves that we can win followers for God by making
ourselves attractive to the world. But the Bible is clear about what’s really
important
to God. He wants us to look like Jesus in our character. In a sense,
Jesus is our “brand,”
for we are being conformed to His image (Rom. 8:29). We
attract others to Christ when
we put on His attributes, which include tender
mercies, kindness, humility,
meekness, longsuffering (Col. 3:12), and, above
all, love (v.14).
Instead
of polishing and protecting our own image, we need to be guarding and
reflecting the image of God, which is being perfected in us through Christ.
O to be like Thee! blessed Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear. —Chisholm
One of the Spirit’s roles is to form the likeness of Christ in
us.
Source: Our Daily Bread 2013
