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There is nothing like putting on a new shirt and pair of pants. Just ask any of the children who are getting ready to go back to school. The best part of that first-day experience is showing up in a new set of clothes. Admit it. We all feel better about ourselves when we put on something new. We have more confidence. We have more energy to tackle and complete our assignments. We feel more comfortable and better received among our peers. The saying, "Clothes make the man (woman)" is true.

In our text today, Paul encourages the Colossians to change their wardrobe, if you will. In effect, he tells them that since they now belong to Christ, that they ought to look the part.

Paul is not literally telling them to go out and buy a new wardrobe. What he suggests is that the Colossians begin living lives that reflect the glory of God. He calls on them to take advantage of their new estate and make the changes in their lives that will allow them to fully reflect the love of God that they experienced in Jesus.

This was a radical concept for the people back then. In the Bible Exposition Commentary, Warren Wiersbe reminds us that the pagan religions of Paul's day taught little or nothing about personal morality: A worshiper could bow before an idol, put his offering on the altar, and go back to the same old life of sin. What a person believed had no direct relationship with how he behaved.

No doubt there were many who heard the gospel and felt good about it. That is where it ended, though. Luke tells of an occasion where several people came to Jesus and declared that they would follow him, only to make one excuse after another. One man says "I will follow you wherever you go." He is easily put off when Jesus says that he will have no place to lay his head. A second man says he will follow "right after I bury my father," and Jesus sees right through him. A third man says, "Let me first say farewell to those at my home," and Jesus sends him away. That still happens today. We have people sitting in our pews who love Jesus on Sunday but go right back out and do whatever they please on Monday.

Paul says to love Christ is to be a new creation and to be crucified and resurrected with him. Therefore, we need a set of clothes, a new look, a new appearance when we begin walking with him. There should be a difference between us, as Christians, and the rest of the people in the culture in which we live.

Ask your kids who their heroes are and you will get some surprising answers. They may point to the president or some sports superstar. They may point to a popular singer or movie star. Look at their wardrobe and you will see who influences them the most. Look at the way they wear their hair and you will see who they want to be like. We become that which we worship. Paul encourages us to "set your hearts on things above." He wants us to keep our eyes on Jesus so that we can emulate him in our lives.

The first step in doing this is to get rid of our old ways. Someone said there is nothing as comfortable as an old shoe. There is some truth in that. Many of us enjoy wearing an old pair of jeans or our favorite T-shirt. As a matter of fact, I know some kids who go so far as to buy some jeans with holes already in them. I'm told it is the style.

As much as we like to put on new clothes, some of us have a hard time getting rid of the old ones. Paul addresses that in the next part of the text. He lists out several habits that we should abandon. As we look at the list, it becomes obvious that it is easier said than done. Some of these sins have established strongholds in our lives. We may have even justified some of them and found ways to make them look acceptable, but Paul reminds us that they are to be dealt with by the wrath of God.

You see, we can make all kinds of excuses for what we do. We lie to each other and pretend that God doesn't care. Paul tells us otherwise. God cares. I heard a story about a man who went with some friends to an amusement park on a hot summer day. They decided to go on a white water rafting ride so they could cool off. Lo and behold, they got soaked. As they got off the ride, they looked at each other and began debating whether or not to go back to the car to get a change of clothes. No one wanted to admit just how uncomfortable they were, so they decided they would continue on. They spent the next two hours feeling gross and washed out. Whenever one of them would ask another if they wanted to go back to the car, the reply was always the same. "I'm okay. Did you want to go back to the car?" "No. I'm okay." Back and forth it went.

That night as they were driving home, the man said to his friends, "I can't wait to get home and get changed. I have been miserable all day." One by one, they all confessed the same thing. What we are wearing can make us miserable. So it is with sin.

Annie Dillard, in her book Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, writes:

At the end of the island I noticed a small green frog. He was exactly half in and half out of the water. He was a very small frog with wide, dull eyes. And just as I looked at him, he slowly crumpled and began to sag. The spirit vanished from his eyes as if snuffed. His skin emptied and drooped; his very skull seemed to collapse and settle like a kicked tent.At the end of the island I noticed a small green frog. He was exactly half in and half out of the water. He was a very small frog with wide, dull eyes. And just as I looked at him, he slowly crumpled and began to sag. The spirit vanished from his eyes as if snuffed. His skin emptied and drooped; his very skull seemed to collapse and settle like a kicked tent.

An oval shadow hung in the water behind the drained frog: then the shadow glided away. The frog skin bag started to sink. An oval shadow hung in the water behind the drained frog: then the shadow glided away. The frog skin bag started to sink.

I had read about the water bug, but never seen one. "Giant water bug" is really the name of the creature, which is an enormous, heavy-bodied, brown beetle. It eats insects, tadpoles, fish, and frogs. Its grasping forelegs are mighty and hooked inward. It seizes a victim with these legs, hugs it tight, and paralyzes it with enzymes injected during a vicious bite. Through the puncture holes shoots the poison that dissolves the victim's muscles, bones, and organs -- all but the skin -- and through it the giant water bug sucks out all the victim's body, reducing it to liquid. I had read about the water bug, but never seen one. Giantwaterbug is really the name of the creature, which is an enormous, heavy-bodied, brown beetle. It eats insects, tadpoles, fish, and frogs. Its grasping forelegs are mighty and hooked inward. It seizes a victim with these legs, hugs it tight, and paralyzes it with enzymes injected during a vicious bite. Through the puncture holes shoots the poison that dissolves the victim’s muscles, bones, and organs — all but the skin — and through it the giant water bug sucks out all the victim’s body, reducing it to liquid.

Sin can suck the life out of you. You cannot walk with Christ and at the same time do things you know are contrary to what the Bible teaches. Your spiritual life will be sucked out of you. Your walk will be filled with disappointment, guilt, and discouragement. That is why you must confront it. One of the basic principles in a twelve-step program is admitting that you have a problem. Recovery cannot take place until you are honest with yourself and confront your failings. Once you do, then you can begin dealing with it and reclaim your life. At that point, you can put on the new wardrobe that God provides through his Son, Jesus Christ.

Jesus shows us the way to live a life that is both meaningful and joyful, as well as, pleasing to God. When Paul says, "Put on Christ," he is saying that we should live life as though Christ were living through us.

Again, it all goes back to asking the question, "What would Jesus do?" It is not only a moral imperative, it is also a way to find joy and happiness in life. Jesus shows us the way to live a completely satisfying life. He offers us everything we need to find our fulfillment without having to revert back to our old lifestyles. Your life will never be the same when you accept Christ and decide to walk with him.

I came across a story on the internet about a man named Don Calhoun. Have you ever heard of him? He worked for five dollars an hour at an office supply store in Bloomington, Illinois. Tickets to a professional basketball game were so expensive that although he lived close enough to the arena, he had only attended two Chicago Bulls' basketball games in his life. It was a pretty special moment when he arrived for his third game ever. A woman who worked for the Bulls' organization walked up to him and told him they were selecting him to take part in a promotional event during the game called the "Million-Dollar Shot."

The shot came after a time-out in the third quarter. If Calhoun could shoot a basket standing 79 feet away -- meaning he had to stand behind the free-throw line on the opposite end of the court and throw the ball three-quarters of the length of the court -- he would win a million dollars.

Calhoun played basketball at the Bloomington YMCA, but he had never tried a shot like this before. He took the basketball in his hands and looked over at Michael Jordan and the rest of the Bulls. He could see they were pulling for him.

Calhoun stepped to the line and let it fly. As soon as the basketball left his hand, coach Phil Jackson said, "It's good." Indeed, the ball went through the basket with a swish. The stadium crowd went wild. Calhoun rushed into the arms of Michael Jordan and the rest of the Bulls' players crowded around slapping him on the back.

When Don Calhoun went home that night, he had only two dollars in his wallet, but he would receive $50,000 a year for the next twenty years of his life. His life had been changed in an instant. Can you imagine having that kind of life-changing experience?

That is exactly what will happen to us when we accept Christ into our hearts. We may look the same, but we are a new creation. We are living with a promise. We are joint heirs with Christ and therefore we can proudly begin to live the life and take on a wardrobe that befits a king. Amen.