Therefore, God’s chosen ones, holy and loved, put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience accepting one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive. Above all, put on love-the perfect bond of unity and let the peace of the Messiah, to which you were called in one body, control your hearts. Be thankful.     Colossians 3:12-15 HCSB

The first time I ever wore a uniform was when I joined the Brownies. This was prior to becoming a Girl Scout. I would don a uniform again at the age of 18 when I went full-time with the Sheriff’s Office working in the office. I worked many years in probation and parole where casual dress attire was worn in the field. That later went to what was called BDUs or Battle Dress Uniform.

The military used that term for their camouflage battle attire between 1980 and 2015. In 2015 the army wore ACU’s which stands for Army Combat Uniform. I said all that to say this, a uniform serves a purpose.

As a police officer we were held to a force continuum. This meant that if we were met with any type of resistance or force, we could match their level and escalate one level above. Officer presence was the lowest level of force. There are times when just the presence of the officer can bring a situation under control.

I would imagine that’s rarely the case these days since there is so little appreciation for the police, but that’s not the point. The point I’m trying to make here is the uniform is what tells us what job a person does. It tells us if we are dealing with a police officer, someone trained to fight fires, military personnel, a UPS driver, an ATT worker, a Walmart worker or what type of sport and team a person plays on.

As Christians, we also have to wear our uniforms in order for others to recognize us as Christians. Our uniforms are not clothing we wear but we must put them on each and every day. Our Scripture passage tells us to put on kindness, gentleness, humility and patience. It also tells us above all to put on love.

When we accept Christ as our Savior, it’s important to wear our uniform at all times. Anytime someone deals with us, they should see us clothed in love accompanied by the other traits mentioned.

Now the thing about a uniform is one uniform doesn’t cover all jobs. For example, it would not be feasible for a police officer to walk around in the heavy protective clothing a fireman wears into a fire. Likewise, it would make no sense for a fireman to go into a fire wearing a gun and a taser.

As Christians we have to put on love, kindness and compassion. We must be willing to forgive others as Christ has forgiven us. We are told to imitate Christ (Ephesians 5:1). This doesn’t seem like proper battle attire, right? But have no fear, God has that covered.

In Ephesians 6:10-18 we are instructed on how to daily suit up for battle. I consider our Scripture passage to be the undergarment of the Christian soldier, but we must also put on our battle dress uniform or our combat uniform. We are told in Ephesians 6:10-18 to put on the full armor of God so we can resist the devil.

We are told to put on the belt of truth. We should always be truthful. The breastplate of righteousness is to guard our heart. We are to sandal our feet with readiness for the gospel of peace. The Roman soldier wore these sandals that were like cleats on the bottom. They helped them to stand firm and hold their position. We must be able to stand firm in peace.

We are to take the shield of faith. Our faithfulness keeps us safe from the devil’s attack. We are to carry the sword of the Spirit which is God’s word. I have quoted Scripture to an enemy who was attacking, and the result was amazing. It stopped the attack and changed the whole trajectory of the situation.

When you are facing an enemy it’s human nature to want to attack, but the only offensive weapon we are given in this passage is God’s holy word and prayer is also mentioned. This is how we fight. We wear compassion, kindness, gentleness, humility and our foundational garments. We wear truth, righteousness, salvation, peace and God’s word as our BDU’s.

Everyone you encounter should know who you work for by your uniform.

Have a great day!