BRANDED!

Part of this Christmas season, I spent with good friends from Boston, vacationing in sunny, warm Florida, where we had the air-conditioning running in both condo and car. Now, that’s the way to spend Christmas.

There we are—Jake, Nancy, and I—before we launch out to the beach. (Well … not exactly! We drove around the beach. In fact, all the beaches from Miami to Ft. Lauderdale. We saw them all! Without getting any sun on our skin, sand on our bodies, or water in our belongings! In air-conditioned comfort. Now, that’s the way to enjoy surf and sand.)

But anyway, there we are, loyal fans decked out in Dallas Theological Seminary T-shirts. Jake’s has, in Hebrew, Hallelujah; Nancy’s, in Greek, boasts the motto of the school—Preach the Word; mine depicts DTS’s logo, bearing in addition to the Greek motto, an open Bible, a torch, and the date of the institution’s incorporation (1925). Branded!

Preach the word;
be ready in season and out of season;
reprove, rebuke, exhort,
with great patience and instruction.
2 Timothy 4:2

But, really, what are we to be branded by? DTS? Aéropostale? Nike? Louis Vuitton? Prada? Rolex? BMW?

For this reason I say to you,
do not be worried about your life,
as to what you will eat
or what you will drink;
nor for your body,
as to what you will put on.
Is not life more than food,
and the body more than clothing?
Observe how the lilies of the field grow;
they do not toil nor do they spin,
yet I say to you that
not even Solomon in all his glory
clothed himself like one of these.
But seek first His kingdom
and His righteousness,
and all these things will be added to you.
Matthew 6:25, 28, 29, 33

Branded by God. Clothed by Christ. Marked by the Spirit.

For all of you
who were baptized into Christ
have put on Christ.
Galatians 3:27

And this is to live in Him as He lives in us.

I have been crucified with Christ;
and it is no longer I who live,
but Christ lives in me;
and the life which I now live in the flesh
I live by faith in the Son of God,
who loved me
and gave Himself up for me.
Galatians 2:20

To live for Him and to live like Him.

Let us behave properly as in the day,
not in carousing and drunkenness,
not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality,
not in strife and jealousy.
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and make no provision
for the flesh in regard to its lusts.
Romans 13:13–14

Branded by His life, believers are called to demonstrate Christlikeness in everything.

So, as those who have been
chosen of God, holy and beloved,
put on a heart of compassion, kindness,
humility, gentleness and patience.
Colossians 3:12

Not a bad New Year’s resolution, huh? Probably should be on our lists every year, for it is unlikely we’ll reach that kind of Christlikeness and perfection this side of life. But we will … one day. Branded imperishably, immortally!

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,
at the last trumpet;
for the trumpet will sound,
and the dead will be raised imperishable,
and we will be changed.
For this perishable must put on
the imperishable,
and this mortal must put on immortality.
… then will come about the saying
that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
1 Corinthians 15:52–54

2009. Perhaps it will be this year ….