We Wear the Uniform

10/06/2009

We wear the uniform, but do we supply the service?
Do we have the proper training for the job required?
Do we present ourselves in the correct way, speak the words required, or not, and follow through on our assignments to the best of our God-given ability?

What uniform are we wearing each day? It’s easy to answer that question if we have a uniform that goes along with our job. I do right now. I wear a ref’s striped shirt, my name badge, black pants and sports tennis shoes. That’s the required clothing for working where I cut hair, where sports are the theme. It makes it easy, I don’t have to dig through my closet wondering if I “wore that last time?” I know I wore it last time, and I know I’ll wear it next time. It keeps it simple, but it also means that I have a responsibility when I put those clothes on because they represent the company I work for. Their name is on my shirt, and when I walk around outside of my place of business, I still represent where I work. I see people looking at me, wondering why I’m dressed that way. If I were rude, or maybe even broke the law wearing that uniform, I would not only have my name in the news, but the company I work for would also have their name in the news. I’m sure I wouldn’t be working there very long after that!

Why all this talk about uniforms? Well, I woke up the other morning and this was my first thought of the day…“We wear the uniform.” So, I got up and wrote it down, wondering if God was wanting me to write something about this. And here I am…writing, but also listening while I write about what this means, not only to me, but to any one of you that might be reading this when it is finished.

We are taught that:

“…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such
things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have
crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.
Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”
Galatians 5:22-25 (NIV)

Are we keeping in step with the Spirit each day?
When called to service, do we show love and joy?
When training in God’s Word, are we growing stronger in patience and kindness?
When presenting ourselves, are we showing goodness to others?
When we speak words, are they gentle and self-controlled?
When given an assignment, are we faithful to the end?

These things have been planted on the inside of us, but do they show on the outside? Are we wearing the proper uniform? Keeping in step with the Spirit reveals the uniform of a believer in Jesus Christ. We receive every piece of this uniform on the day we put our trust in Jesus—on the day we receive Jesus into our hearts, inviting the Holy Spirit to live deep inside of us—and it should become more and more visible as we walk with Jesus. It should eventually spill out of us in the way we act, in the things we say, and in the impression we leave on those around us. If we did end up in the news on any given day, would God be shown in a good light because we didn’t rob the local bank, but instead we helped someone, somewhere in the most loving way possible? It’s said, “Don’t pray for patience.” Actually, we don’t have to pray for patience, we’ve already been given patience…we just need to cultivate it so it will grow inside of us.

“…the Lord feeds and refreshes our souls that we may afterward use
our renewed strength in the promotion of his glory.” Charles H. Spurgeon

The other day I came out of my job, still wearing my uniform, and I got in my car to drive home. The parking lot seemed to line up more than usual on this day, and then I saw an older woman backing her car up right in the midst of it all, and I thought thoughts that weren’t all that nice. Taking into consideration her “age,” I figured she was confused and in her confusion was causing all of us to wait longer than we “should have to.” It seemed that a little road rage was more what I felt instead of understanding about the situation. After she got her car backed up and over to the side, I spotted a young man pushing his stalled car out of the way, which is why she was backing up in the first place…to get out of his way. My bad….my bad…

This young man was having some difficulty pushing his car by himself, and so, still in my work uniform, I got out of my car and went over to help him. I can’t say it was the smartest thing in the world to be doing since my “age” isn’t so young anymore either, and my physical condition is not what it should be for lack of exercise…but get out and push I did, until we had his car pushed slightly uphill (feel the strain), into a parking space, freeing up the exit out of the parking lot.

If it had been reported in the news, it might have been because I had collapsed from a heart attack, and the headline would have read, “Fifty-two year old woman forgot she wasn’t as young as she used to be…”, or something to that affect. The good thing would have been that I would have collapsed wearing my work uniform and it sure would have made my company look good! Or I would hope! It would have been great advertisement for the “kind” of employees they hire, and how willing we are to go out of our way to serve the public…even when we’re off work.

The point being in all of this is, how do we represent those we work for when we are wearing the company uniform with our name on our shirt, and more to the point, how do we represent God when we walk around wearing His “Fruit of the Spirit” imprinted on our heart? Is our love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control fully visible and recognizable as God’s Uniform of the day, or is it strangely missing? What we wear inside and outside, represents who we are. Even in Heaven, at the wedding feast of the Lamb, what we wear represents who we are.

“She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.”
For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people.
Revelation 19:8 (NLT)

If I show up at work and don’t have my name tag on my uniform, then I’m not fully ready to begin work. That’s why I now keep it there with my locker, so I never have to say, “I forgot it at home.” It’s a little thing, just as we might say “Patience,” or “Faithfulness” is just a little thing, and we could say, “I have all the rest of the Fruit of God’s Spirit with me.” But even if there’s just one small piece of fruit not as fully developed as it could be, it could be sorely missed. What if it’s the one piece of fruit we are most needing on a given day to represent Who we serve? What if that young man needed help pushing his car, and I wasn’t wearing “goodness” on that day, but I had plenty of “patience” as I sat and watched him push his car out of the way on his own. Maybe that’s why no one else got out of their car to help push, maybe they were operating in the fruit of patience…which helped, I guess, because they weren’t honking their horns, but we sure could have used more goodness, i.e., muscle power instead.

What if a friend is expecting us for lunch, but we cancel for silly reasons, or just forget to show up at all…a piece of faithfulness needed on that day wasn’t worn. What if someone is hurting us, and we have every right to be angry and bitter, but what is most needed is unconditional love through this period in their life…but love hadn’t been cultivated in our own hearts through time with God? What if our response in a heated situation could have been avoided with the fruit of self-control, but it wasn’t there, wasn’t accessible because it was buried deep inside, thirsty for some Living Water to help it grow?

How does the Fruit of the Spirit grow in us to the point of growing out of us…out of our actions, and especially out of our hearts, and out of our mouths? God brings things into our lives to develop each piece of fruit. That one thing, that one trial that we think our lives would be better off without is probably the very thing that is developing that piece of the Fruit of the Spirit, ripening it to its desired sweetness in us. When we pray our way through life, we grow in our relationship with God, and we are filled with His indwelling Holy Spirit, becoming more and more the image of our Maker. We can’t physically exercise God’s Fruit into us, we can’t get into good spiritual shape by lifting weights, we have to build our relationship with our Savior through prayer, and then let Him operate through us in His strength. We have to practice prayer until our prayer muscle is strong.

Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives’ tales.
Instead, train yourself to be godly. “Physical training is good, but
training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life
and in the life to come.” 1 Timothy 4:7-8 (NLT)

“We hear it said that a man will suffer in his life if he does not pray; I question it. What will suffer is the life of the Son of God in him, which is nourished not by food, but by prayer. When a man is born from above, the life of the Son of God is born in him, and he can either starve that life or nourish it.” Oswald Chambers

I’ve heard a lot lately about sowing and reaping, two words that I get mixed up for some reason. I can never remember if we’re reaping what we sow, or sowing what we reap, but I do understand the concept, as was explained once again the other day. If an apple seed is planted, it will produce an apple tree. Not a peach tree, or a plum tree, but there will be apples growing there. It works the same in our lives, we can’t expect to get apples if we’re just sitting there wishing an apple tree will grow. God has given us the soil, He’s providing the seed, He’ll even plant it and water it for us if we ask Him, but most times we don’t even want to do that, to take the time to pray…so we don’t even ask. Maybe that’s why God has to even remind us to ask…

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”
Matthew 7:7-8 (NIV)

We can’t expect to have a great and close relationship with God without investing some time in it. We can hope for it, we can wish for it, we can envy others who have it, and listen to preachers preach about it, we can miss it, and long for it, but the only way we can get it, is to sow into it, and then, and only then, will the reaping come. If prayer is hard for you, or you just don’t know where to start, find a tool that will help. A friend gave me a great book called, “A Treasury of Praise” by Ruth Myers. It has very short but very powerful daily prayers that are filled with Scripture. It’s helpful for those new to prayer, or for those practiced in prayer. We tend to forget how important our time with God is, and how available He is to us each day. Here is an excerpt from Day 8 of Ruth Myers’ book:

Your Word—I’m so grateful that You cared enough to communicate with us in this clear, unchanging, always-accessible way so that Your thoughts are now available at all times to refresh and nourish and teach me…and that You are still a communicating God, speaking these words to me as I am attentive to You, as I read and meditate with a listening heart.

I recently talked with someone who said he sees his Bible sitting there, and he keeps walking by it, knowing he should open it up. He didn’t know why he was avoiding it, but he wanted to change that pattern. He’s now reading it morning and night. He’s sowing God’s Word into his life, and the reaping will come…that’s God’s promise to us. Not a life of ease, but a life of peace amidst the storms. No one was closer to the Father than the Son, and His was not a life without the pain, but it was a life of sowing, and the reaping is all of us, those of us who will believe…we will live eternally with Jesus.

Listening to a Charles Stanley sermon the other day, he talked of reading our Bibles, and how any day we are away from the Word, it is a day we are moving away from God. It made in impression on me, because it is so true. Each day we ignore our Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth book, we ignore our God and all that He has given us to understand this life and His ways a bit more. We are moving away from God, maybe just in small increments, but it will add up over time, and eventually we will wonder where He went….when God didn’t go anywhere at all, we did. We have left God behind for other things that seemed more important at the time…and it will catch up with us.

We may have been away from prayer and avoided growing close with God for quite some time; we may not have noticed that the uniform we are wearing is in need of some attention. It might be torn, and need some mending. It might be dirty, and need some cleansing. It might be old, and need some renewing. It might be dingy, and need some loving care. God’s “Cleaners” is open 24-7. Let’s not forget…let’s begin with prayer and God’s Word, and then go into our day prepared to serve God as we should, and to bring Him all the glory He is deserving of. Let’s make those on the outside of God’s army want in! Let’s be the best dressed, best equipped, best fed army around—and I’m not talking about material things, I’m talking about spiritual things!

We can all have a close and personal relationship with Jesus by spending time with Him. He’s always there, inside of us…waiting for us to turn our attention to Him. He’s whispering to our hearts, and we need to stop and listen. Sometimes we don’t pay enough attention to that still small voice—but I had an interesting thing happen just today that reminds me of God’s continual activity in our lives. I have been praying for a friend who is going through a difficult and scary time. I took time to pray for her this morning, and then as I was getting my lunch together I felt a tugging on my heart to pray for her again. I glanced at the clock and it was 11:30. I wondered if she was in seeing the doctor with her baby, they had an appointment, and she needed some answers. I prayed she would get the help she needed. I received an e-mail from her later saying that the visit to the doctor had gone well, and although many of the answers are “wait and see” answers, she was still given the attention needed on that day to bring her and her baby some peace. I told her that I had felt a tugging to pray for her at 11:30 and I wondered if she had been with the doctor at that time. She wrote back to tell me that she knew she was with the doctor then because she had asked the doctor what time it was, and the doctor responded, “It’s 11:30.”

Why does God do things like this? And is it God at all? I believe so, and I believe it’s because our God wants us to know that He is intimately involved in our lives. He can show us in big ways, or He can show us in seemingly little ways, but big or small they add up to a growing faith in a marvelous God. Why did I look at the clock when I felt I needed to pray, why did my friend ask the doctor at the very same moment for the time, and why did we even end up talking about that over e-mail? Maybe just because God wanted to us to know of His involvement, and all that He is capable of each day if we will only ask Him…if we will only remember to just ask Him.

Charles H. Spurgeon wrote:

“The fruit of the branch is directly traceable to the root. Sever the connection, the branch dies, and no fruit is produced. By virtue of our union with Christ we bring forth fruit….Our fruit comes from God as to spiritual providence. When the dew-drops fall from heaven, when the cloud looks down from on high, and is about to distil its liquid treasure, when the bright sun swells the berries of the cluster, each heavenly boon may whisper to the tree and say, “From me is thy fruit found.” The fruit owes much to the root—that is essential to fruitfulness—but it owes very much also to external influences. How much we owe to God’s grace-providence! In which he provides us constantly with quickening, teaching, consolation, strength, or whatever else we want. To this we owe our all of usefulness or virtue.”

We reap what we sow, and when we plant things each day in our lives through prayer and God’s Word, godly things come out it, things we might have missed if we hadn’t taken just that few moments to sow some seeds of faith about what is going on in our life, or in the lives of those we know. Just this morning, reading in Acts, I was reading about Peter’s miraculous escape from prison. There he was sleeping, chained between two soldiers, and an angel tapped him on the side to awaken him. The angel told him to get up, and the chains fell off his wrists. Then the angel told him to get dressed and put on his sandals, and then to put on his coat and follow the angel. He was led out past the first and second guard posts and came to an iron gate. The iron gate opened all by itself, and Peter and the angel passed through and started walking down the street. Then the angel left him, and when Peter realized what had happened he knew that God had saved him. He went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where it says many were gathered for prayer. Talk about their astonishment when he knocked on their door! They were amazed to see him standing there; the answer to their prayers for him had quickly arrived.

Time with God shows us His amazing power, and His all knowing ways. God even opened the gate for Peter and the angel on the way out of the prison; they didn’t even have to touch it. We have to get it into our thick skulls that God can do anything, anytime, anywhere, and anyway He wants to get it done. Our main responsibility is to spend time with Him and get to know Him, and then watch Him work in our lives and through our lives each day.

We have to know that when Peter showed up at the house where everyone was praying for him, he was fully dressed in God’s uniform of the day—think of the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control he must have worn having just seen the power of God at work in his life. We can have that same fruit too, by seeing our Savior work in our daily lives, from the little things to the big things. God will make Himself known if we will simply ask. And He will help us to smile, and laugh, and enjoy this life when we spend time in prayer, even as difficult as life can be from day to day.

Lately, I’ve been teaching my three-year-old grandson, Jackson, about Jesus’ Cross. I love to take him to church with me, and I’ve been pointing out crosses and explaining to him that that is Jesus’ Cross. He’s getting it…or so I thought, until I stopped in to visit the other day and my daughter-in-law told me there was a slight problem…Jackson thinks Jesus first name is “Jesus,” and his last name is “Cross.” Back to square one we go, but what fun! I’m sure Jesus is smiling up in Heaven as this little boy makes his first steps towards knowing Him…and I’m smiling with Jesus as Jackson’s Oma. (Grandma) It’s all a process, for the little ones, and for us too, as we continue to seek “Jesus’ Cross” daily, to ask daily, and to embrace daily all the awesome lessons we are here to learn.

One day down the road, when I am no longer employed where I am, I am required to return my referee shirts, and my name badge. Why? Because they know that if I wear them, I represent them, and if I’m not working for them, they have no say as to how I “wear” their uniform. While in their employ, I must behave a certain way, follow certain rules…show up—on time, work hard, be courteous, kind, and helpful to our clients as well as to those I work with. Their motto is: “Do what’s right, do your best, and treat others the way they want to be treated.” Should we do any less as the children of God? Should we do any less when we wear the evidence of the Holy Spirit’s indwelling in our lives?

The world is watching we Christians, they know when we’re out of “uniform.” Just like if my husband walks into a bank where he works on their ATM’s. They normally see him in all black because he’s there to do a job. They look at him a bit strangely when he walks in with a blue or yellow shirt on…they wonder what he’s up to? As Christians, we are expected to behave a certain way, and when we fall short of that, the world outside of the faith is usually the first to call us on it. They know how we are supposed to be dressed, but sometimes we forget…we forget we’re wearing the “uniform” of the army of God. We forget that we represent the Highest Authority in Heaven and Earth. We forget that we serve a Mighty King, and all that we do is for Him and for His glory. When we wear the uniform of a believer in Jesus Christ, let’s properly represent Who we serve, demonstrating a love and loyalty to His Mighty Kingdom, which will reign forever and ever. When we arrive in that Kingdom, we’ll have turned in our earthly uniform for a Heavenly one—our clothes will be of pure white linen—it will be a proud day for our Father.

A friend of ours who recently went Home to Heaven expressed it best when he said he looked forward to being in Heaven because it is a place where he will never grieve the Holy Spirit again, or disappoint his Lord. That was his longing in Heaven—to please his Lord every single day for all of eternity. He’s enjoying that, reaping all that he sowed on earth in his relationship with His Savior. I was given the privilege of cutting his hair and trimming his beard just weeks before God took him home. As I finished up on that day, and we talked about the things of Heaven, we gave each other a hug and I told him that if he does leave this earth before I do, to please give Phil a hug from his mom. He said he would…I know Phil got his hug, and I know R.C. is happy to have left his earthly uniform behind for the perfection of his Heavenly one forevermore! His heart’s desire was to wear the Fruit of the Spirit as God had originally designed it! Now he can!

“Earth should be preparation for heaven; and heaven is the place where saints
feast most and work most. They sit down at the table of our Lord…they eat
heavenly food and render perfect service. Believer, in the strength you daily
gain from Christ labor for him.” Charles H. Spurgeon

Until we meet again,

Diane