Thursday, July 31, 2008

Clothing Our Hearts

Yesterday's passage spoke of the things we as believers need to get rid of; today's passage tells us what to "clothe" ourselves with.
Colossians 3: 12 - 14 says, "Therefore, as chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues, put on love, which holds them all together in perfect unity".
This says we are chosen and holy - meaning that as believers and the body of Christ, we are to be seperated from all that is unclean. The virtues which we are told to clothe ourselves with are the same ones that Jesus clothed himself with, no matter what circumstance he was in.
Sometimes it's very hard to be humble, and to be kind and patient with people, especially when they aren't acting the same way, but the Lord is telling us that it's our responsibility as believers to don these attitudes in order for the world to see the difference in us. Then He tells us to do the hardest thing in the world for most of us - forgive one another. Our hearts sometime scream, 'but do you know what that person DID'? And we deem them unworthy of forgiveness. None of us are worthy of the forgiveness that the Lord bestows on us, but He forgives us over and over again day after day. When I've been convicted by the Holy Spirit to forgive someone, I most always have to tell him that I forgive them in my head because He tells us we must do this, but that He will have to work it into my heart. It doesn't mean that what that person did or said was right, but it frees me from the prison of unforgiveness, which builds a wall between me and the Lord.
The last thing we are directed to do in this passage is to put love on first - unconditional love will enable us to more easily act with the virtues of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Have a wonderful day!

Janelle

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