This morning I felt led to read out of Paul's letter to the Colossians. I do love his letters and so appreciate his logical progressions, as builds upon truth, one thought at a time (at least that is how I experience his writings). Here are my verses for today - Colossians 3:1-14 NIV:
[1] "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
[2] Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
[3] For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
[4] When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
[5] Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
[6] Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.
[7] You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.
[8] But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.
[9] Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices
[10] and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
[11] Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
[12] Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
[13] Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
[14] And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."
I noted in my blog yesterday that sometimes writing verses in such a way, with each sentence is given its own line, helps me to see the separate thought each contains, and helps me to stop and think about what I just read before continuing on with the next verse. I read many materials very quickly, and I have to force my mind to slow down so that I can allow the truth to settle in my heart before moving onto the next verse. Anyway, I hope it is helpful to you as well.
The verses that caught my attention were verses 8, 5 and 3 in that order. I find that I do oftentimes read something in reverse order to understand the logical steps Paul is taking between each sentence and thought. In verse 8 the word that caught my attention was "also" as in something in addition to what Paul had previously written (verse 5), which was a response to a fact (verse 3).
One of the things that we can overlook is that Paul is addressing real people, with real issues, in His letters. They were Christians much like ourselves, and Paul, is not shy in providing guidance to what our lives should look like in response to the gift of salvation, and relationship with the Lord! The point is that there were people in the church of Colassae who were dealing with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, greed, anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language! That is quite the shocking list of issues to find in any church, and yet, I think it is true of pretty much every church!
Paul's list is an example of our human condition, and as humans, we struggle with similar things. Many churches try to hide the fact that there are sinners in their midst, but the fact that there are sinners present is true of every single church. We should not be surprised that sins such as these are present in each other, but we also should encourage one another to lay aside these self-focused, vain imaginations, these desires for personal gain at the expense of others, so that we might press forward into our new identity, putting on our new self. We are not above such people, nor better than such people, we ARE such people!!
Oh Lord, help the church to lay down its spiritual pride, and judgment! Help us to embrace each other, recognize our own brokenness and encourage one another forward to love, compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience! The Lord did not reject us in our brokenness, He came to heal us, forgive us and welcome us into His family! As Paul says, we must endeavor to rid ourselves of such things, and we must bear with each other, forgive one another and over all of this, to constantly operate in love!
I love how Paul encourages us to "put on love", for often we think love is a feeling, but I find it is most often a choice I make. When I choose to take my eyes off myself, refusing to idolize my imaginations, my "feelings", my own desires and wants, and choose instead to really look, hear and understand others, I find I am much more loving in my attitudes and actions. Oh Lord, please continue to help me to love others as You love me!
This morning I am encouraged to choose to put on love, to operate from a place of mercy instead of judgment! I am encouraged to clothe myself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience and forgiveness, putting love on over the top for a beautiful fashion ensemble of Christ-likeness.
Amen!
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