Emmanuel Mennonite

Dress for success

One item given to all participants in this year's Mennonite Church Canada Assembly is a bright green band with the words of our theme: Reclaiming JESUS gladly wear the name.

I've been wearing mine on my wrist, and have seen others do the same, while there is at least one person wearing it on her ankle.  "Don't you want to wear the name of Jesus?" one wrist-banded participant said to another whose band was still likely in the bottom of their Assembly totebag.

For some, wearing or seeing that green band might be a good visual reminder of our faith in Jesus, of our relationship with him, and what it means to put on Christ as Scripture reminds us. But of course wearing Christ is more than physically wearing the name of Jesus like some kind of designer label--it means having "the peace of Christ rule in your hearts" (Col. 3:15) and being clothed "with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience" (Col. 3:12). That's how to dress for success, since these things are always in style in the kingdom of God and go with whatever else we might be wearing.