The Letter to the Romans was written by Paul, who had been a zealous persecutor of Christians until he quite literally “saw the light” and became a Christian himself (see Acts 9:1-6).

Paul is making an urgent appeal to the Christians at Rome. He believes that Christ’s return is imminent—much closer than they may think. Paul seems to be assuming that the Christians in Rome have fallen into a false sense of security. After all, they have received Christ and the gift of salvation, so now all they have to do is wait for Christ to come and take them to their ultimate reward—eternal life! Paul knows that much more is demanded of followers of Christ.

So perhaps this is Paul’s question as he writes to the Romans—and to us: “What must we give up and what must we take on in order to live fully in the light of Christ?”

First, we must wake up! We must shake off sleepiness, lethargy, fear, and anything else that tempts us to wander from our focus on Christ. We who are followers of Jesus have work to do!

Second, we must get dressed, and we are to dress ourselves in Jesus Christ. How do we do that? We step into the love, the compassion, the truthfulness, and the assurance of Christ. We wrap those qualities around ourselves before we put on our outer garments for the day. Our attitude is one of gratitude, and our commitment is to serve the risen Christ this day wherever we are, with what we have to offer, and with everyone we meet.