It’s not often one gets a chance to people watch in Milan, a city known for its fashion. So I’ve seized this moment to write a fashion blog post! For the past two days, I’ve moved freely among those who shape the world’s style. When I say “moved freely,” let me clarify: I am invisible. I have watched them walk, talk, and size up one another. As an American who was too eager to jump into spring (I’m already dressed in white jeans and happy, vibrant colors while they are still in black), I am dismissed with a cursory glance; then I am free to stare.
And who wouldn’t stare? It is as though the pages of European fashion magazines have come to life! There is no question that the men and women here are stylish. Their clothes fit perfectly, their hair is impeccable, and the price of their shoes could finance my entire wardrobe for the next five years—but not one looked comfortable. For the most part, their ease looked contrived, their posture rigid, and their confidence fragile. But of course this is true of all who hang their value on what can be purchased one year and become obsolete the next. It is foolish to place your confidence in an expensive trend when you have been freely given the priceless eternal life.
“If you decide for God, living a life of God- worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.” (Matthew 6:25-26, The Message).
In Christ there is no need to fuss. In Christ there is freedom to laugh with each other, rather than at others. At the table, there is gratitude for your food rather than fear that it will make you fat. In Christ we are all clothed in righteousness, careless in the care of God. In Christ our lives are free to abase (generic) as well as to abound (designer)! In Christ our trust is fixed on the unseen and eternal rather than on seeing and being seen.
At breakfast today, in my Gap workout clothes, I made quite a few people smile. Though I was peering at them, they knew I was not a peer. I pray it was because they knew I saw them and not merely their clothes. Let’s be intentional about being the light in all walks of life!
