AS THE CHOSEN
Colossians 3: 12-15 CSB
12 Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a grievance against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you are also to forgive. 14 Above all, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. 15 And let the peace of Christ, to which you were also called in one body, rule your hearts. And be thankful.
There are certain qualifications that accompany different military professions. If you are a Navy Seal, you must be persistent and mentally and physically tough. If you are an Air Force pilot, you must have a certain eyesight requirement. If you are an Army sniper, you must be able to shoot extremely well. And if you are one of God’s chosen, you are called to live in a way that points to God’s goodness and honors Him.
This is what Paul was writing to the church at Colossae. “Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on...” then Paul lists the qualities that accompany God’s chosen. Now the good news is that if we are chosen of God, if we are holy and dearly loved, then we have the capacity to put on the character qualities Paul lays out. And always keep in mind these are not just Paul’s big ideals but rather inspired words from the Holy Spirit through Paul. So, if we are called to put these qualities on, we must already have them in our spiritual closet. You can’t put on what you do not have. So these qualities are ours in Christ, but we have to put them on. The Lord will not make us or put them on for us.
Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Gentleness is defined as a grace of the soul and a calmness toward God and His dealings with us. Patience is not the kind of patience that you need in line at SeaWorld, but a willingness to put up with people. This patience is also referred to in the scriptures as longsuffering. And when it comes to people, suffering long is part of the plan.
Paul continues his list of behaviors for the chosen ones of God, encouraging the believers to forgive others if they have any grievances. Remembering that as the Lord has forgiven us, we are to forgive others. That’s always a great way of looking at forgiveness. When we consider what the Lord has forgiven us for, we can put up with people and forgive them. I remember driving one day with someone right on my rear bumper, and I was definitely feeling a grievance. Then I remembered that I often rode the bumpers of the people going slow in my personal left lane. How often are we genuinely ticked off at other people for things we have done or worse things we have done to the Lord? And He forgave us, so we forgive.
And don’t forget to put on love. Actually, the word is, above all, put on love. Meaning that we are not completely dressed until we have put on love. And we should put on love more than any of these other traits. We aren’t always fired up about putting on love, but heaven thinks it’s the most important of all.
Finally, there is a big benefit to putting on all these Christ-like attributes; a side benefit to being compassionate, forgiving, kind, and patient. You may be thinking that’s quite a load to put on, but it’s connected to the peace of God. It’s much easier for us to walk in the peace of God when we are not harboring bitterness or resentment. It’s easier to find peace when we have a calmness in our souls toward God, and we trust Him. Peace is an easier find when we are practicing the love of God and we are kind to others. One sure way to lose peace is to be at odds with people or in constant strife and conflict.
So as God’s chosen, we have a higher standard to live by. And we have a peace that the world can’t give or take away. So we are thankful.
PRAYER
Thank You, Lord, that I am Your chosen one. Thank You for what You have done for me and that I have the capacity to put on all these attributes that point to You. And thank You for Your peace ruling in my heart!