Clothing Ourselves

Today I want to shift gears a little and not talk about me or my family. I want to talk to you about what God's Word says to you and to me. Recently I was reading in the book of Colossians and a couple of verses really stood out to me.

Colossians 3:12 & 13 says, 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 whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

First off, we must realize that we are a chosen people, we are to be holy and we are dearly loved by the Creator of the universe. Next, we are to clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. It says to clothe ourselves, not put on your socks of compassion, or your lapel pin of humility, but clothe ourselves. Cover up with all of these things.  I used the NIV here because I like the way it reads.  Just a few short weeks ago we were in the dead of winter.  When my children would go outside I would tell them you can go but you must put on a bunch of clothes to stay warm.  Put on long pants, thermal shirts, thick socks, and a heavy coat.  Wrap up!  They needed to wrap up to face the cold.  That's what the apostle Paul is saying here.  Put on these clothes that Jesus has given you.  Wrap yourself in these attributes so that people will know that you belong to Jesus. When we clothe ourselves in these attributes we will see people just as Jesus saw them and we will have compassion for them just as Jesus did for the multitudes.

Also, we are to bear with each other and forgive whatever we may have against another person. That is a hard one because we are in a sinful human body, but when you read the last sentence of verse 13, it should make it easier. Read it and think about what that means to you.....Forgive as the Lord forgave you. How much have you been forgiven? And in this sense of the word forgiven means removed as far as the east is from the west, never to be brought up again! Wow, never to be brought up again.  (now that's complete forgiveness)

Hope this gives you something to think about and ponder. Hope you remember to clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience....and don't forget to forgive as the Lord has forgiven you!

Paul