As the granddaughter of a small town pastor, I was blessed with the opportunity to get up close and personal with the Christian community. On the outside, I felt like the poster child for the good Christian girl, however, the on the inside, I was just a teenage girl who didn’t know the first thing about Christ and what the Christian walk called for. My reality was absorbed with sin, depression, anxiety, suicidal ideologies, abusive relationships, and an incredible lack of self worth. To say I felt frustrated and hurt was an understatement. I was reading my bible, I was praying, I was going to church every Sunday, I served my church, why did I feel so empty and broken? In actuality, I had spent years chasing dead-end roads, leaving me more lost and broken than when I started.

So, what does it mean to take off and put on?

The phrase putting off and putting on can be found in Ephesians. Paul is writing to the Ephesians to encourage and teach them how to “walk in a manner of the calling” (Eph. 4:1). As a Christian, I grew up under the impression that the taking off your old self and putting on your new self happened once. The moment God brought you brought you out of the murky waters and breathed new life into your dark, sinful estate. I never once considered that it would have to be work, let alone something that must be worked on again and again. However, it is here where he states we must be actively be putting on the new attributes of Christ-likeness and taking off the attributes of our sin tattered flesh.

Putting it in practice

Once I had an understanding that this journey would be a constant taking off and submitting my sinful tendencies to God in order to put on and reflect His attributes, my whole world was flipped upside down. It was my lightbulb moment. So how do you put it into practice in practical ways?

Take Every Thought Captive

We, as Christians who live in a fallen world, are constantly bombarded with messages of fear and anxiety, lies that you need and should be able to do it all on your own. The reality is, we were never meant to see all the evils in this world. We were never meant to take on the world, holding it all together with a pretty bow on top. Our sense of worth was never intended to be found in the next social media trend. Our minds are fallen and therefore, they must be renewed. Practice taking every thought captive by reflecting on what takes up space in your mind and holding it up to the lens of what Scripture says. What are you filling your mind with? Is it God’s Word or is it the loud, distracting voice of this world?

Take Every Action Captive

Let’s paint a picture, it’s five o’clock in the afternoon. The television is blaring, the baby is screaming, the toddler missed her nap. Everyone is hungry, tired, and ready for the day to come to an end and seven o’clock couldn’t come soon enough. It’s at this time, you see your four year old pour his cup of water on the floor. His mischievous grin feels personal and you have had enough. You want to explode. The world may say, “He should know better!” , but what does God say?

Okay, maybe this story doesn’t relate to you, but we have all been at our breaking point. The world tells us we are entitled to have our breakdowns. We are allowed to scream and cry. It’s completely understandable to vent to our friend about how awful and hard it all is. We are entitled to our pity party. However, this is a perfect opportunity to practice taking off and putting on. Instead of screaming and getting lost in our emotions, we are called to be slow to anger and self-controlled in our reactions. Instead of giving way to grumbling and complaining, turn to God and seek all the ways that this situation may allow opportunity for growth. Perhaps growing to be more patient or more dependent on Him. It is in these moments we need to fight to keep your eyes fixed on Him and less on the frustrations on the circumstances.

Putting this into practice may seem to be difficult, it can sound downright impossible. Remember, this walk is much more like a marathon than a sprint and like any marathon, there must be discipline. There must be practice. Some days, it will feel like you are on top of the world and others it will feel like you have made no progress at all. Take heart that you are not alone and that He who began a good work will bring it to fruition. Every step you take to continue walking in this journey will be in His grace!