One Life

I wonder what you’re wearing this morning.

I don’t mean your top, or even those nice shoes, I mean on your face.

On Saturday I had tea and cakes with a bunch of quality girls in Guildford, and our conversation turned, perhaps predictably, to clothes...but not the physical kind. You see, we’d discovered that there are quite a few bits of the Bible that talk about what we should wear: Proverbs says strength and dignity, Isaiah says a crown of beauty and a garment of praise, Colossians says compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. And we were musing on the fact that we worry so much about the contents of our wardrobes, but much less about the clothes that matter.

Because what we wear on our faces does matter. On my way to Guildford on the train, I had a wait at Waterloo, and for twenty minutes I just sat and watched people. And most people were just plain miserable. It’s incredibly obvious. When someone is smiling, you’re immediately curious or on your guard because it’s so unexpected. As easy as it is to make assumptions about people based on their clothes – and we all do it – it’s just as easy to read people’s attitudes sometimes.

Imagine if you wore something different on your face – if the goodness and kindness of God was written all over you, as obvious as the hoodie you’re wearing. What would it be like to walk down the high street dressed in the beauty and dignity of the King? I mean having it in your eyes, in your smile, in the tips of your fingers. You would be an incredible influence, even in the post office.

We have as much of a choice in what we wear on our faces as what we wear on our bodies. You can decide what to wear. So this morning, what are you wearing?

And what will you wear tomorrow?