We talk about love as something that happens to us. “I fell in love.” And apparently, if we can fall into love, we can fall out of love. That makes love primarily an emotion-something we experience when the conditions are right. But Paul uses very different language. “Put on love.”

That’s intentional. You didn’t accidentally get dressed this morning. You opened the closet, made a choice, and put something on. Most likely you got dressed whether you felt like getting dressed or not.

Paul says love works something like that. There will be mornings when I don’t feel patient, or particularly kind to that person. Put it on. I don’t feel like being gentle after what they said and I certainly don’t feel like loving them today, so I have to put on love. Putting on love doesn’t mean pretending to feel something we don’t. Biblical love isn’t hypocrisy-it’s obedience. We can’t always command a feeling, but we can choose an action. We can choose kindness, forgiveness, gentleness, service, patience, and blessing.

Love is more than something we feel. Love is something we wear into our everyday relationships. Paul takes it even further in Romans 13:14: “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ.” Colossians says, Put on love. Romans says, Put on Christ. It?s the same idea because God is love.

We usually dress for where we’re going-the gym, work, a wedding, or a Minnesota January. But spiritually, we can’t allow our environment to decide what we’re wearing. Don’t walk into an angry environment and put on anger, or an offended environment and put on offense. Just because somebody else is wearing bitterness doesn’t mean you have to match their outfit.

So maybe tomorrow morning, before asking, “What am I wearing?” ask a better question: “WHO am I wearing?” Before I see my family-or I walk into work-put on Christ. Before I respond to that text-put on Christ. Before I deal with that difficult person-put on Christ. Love isn’t something I wait to fall into. Love is something I choose to put on.