Written by Débora Rodrigo, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Spain
When I was a teenager, I was struck by those TV shows in which physical appearance professionals doing a complete makeover for common people. The changes ranged from hairstyles, haircuts, wardrobe remodeling, makeup, and many other recommendations that never went beyond their physical appearance. At the end of the TV show, it wasn't easy to recognize the person from the beginning. I often wondered if, after the show ended, the participants would continue assuming that new appearance in their day-to-day or if it would be just a one-time experience. I always doubted it.
When a person decides to become a follower of Christ, another series of changes occurs in him. In this case, it is about not-so-superficial changes, but deeper ones. Changes from within the soul and the inner being, even when many of them can also be seen from the outside. But these are not changes that happen one time and that’s it. It is a process in which new changes will be gradually added and in which, additionally, an effort must be made, often intentional, to maintain them. Holiness is not something that we can suddenly attain or that others can bestow on us. Holiness is something that is built little by little; it is a process that will progress while we are in this world and that will culminate on the day we meet our Lord.
Colossians 3 compares conversion and the process of holiness to a change of clothes. When we started our walk with Jesus, we put our old clothes aside and began our walk with a new outfit. Little by little, we are completing and adding accessories to our clothing. In this case, it is an outfit much more in line with our personality and who we are, and what we have decided for ourselves; not at all like those TV shows made to entertain the masses.
Speaking in spiritual terms, can you see a change in style throughout your life? How would you describe your new outfit? What accessories do you still have to add to it?