“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” ~Colossians 3:12-15
As a woman I love a good outfit. I enjoy shopping, putting together outfits for special occasions, and feeling pretty. What woman doesn’t, right? While there is nothing wrong with desiring to look nice outwardly, so many times we fail to work on how we are looking on the inside. If we are honest, we could all use a character check occasionally, and that is exactly what the passage in Colossians 3 gives us. If we are to be the people God us intends then we should strive to glorify Him in every area of our lives.
Verse 12 begins by stating, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved…” — this statement is the entire motivation for why God’s children should be clothed with the qualities that are mentioned later in these verses. We are chosen and beloved by God, and as mentioned in Deuteronomy, God calls us His treasured possession.
No matter who we are or what we have done, God loves us with an everlasting love. The day we accept Him as Savior, our lives become new.
As a believer we are to put aside the former ways of life, and display the love of Christ by having compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, love, and peace. These qualities are not always easy to live out, especially during hard seasons. When we are not actively pursuing Jesus and His Word, we cannot glorify him in the way that He deserves. To another person, the life we live may seem perfect. However, even though we may appear to have it all together on the outside, if others do not see Jesus in us then nothing else matters. This passage calls each of us to live out these characteristics regardless of what our circumstances are.
Also, it is important for each of us to be on guard focusing daily on renewing our mind, and guarding our gate. The things we allow in will eventually spill over into how we live. If not, thoughts of anger, bitterness, and selfishness will consume us instead of love, gentleness, and compassion.
Over the next couple of weeks, I will sharing about each of these characteristics and what God is teaching me. I would encourage you to study this passage in Colossians along with me because I would love to hear how God is using it in your life as well.
Be sure to check back on Monday for my next post focusing on compassion.
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