May 16, 2018 – Colossians 3:12-13

Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.  Colossians 3:12-13.

Do you remember the endless waits in elementary school during recess when you waited, afraid you would not be chosen?  I do.  What a joy it is to know the Lord God and Creator of the Universe chose me and chose you.  Chosen, not to play a game not lasting long, but for an eternity!

Growing up is another word for a process.  A process of adding kindness, mercy, and patience as what others see, in our clothing our souls.  Without these gifts from the Holy Spirit, we are not dressed before God.

Why should we forgive others?  For all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23. Our Lord forgives us, so it follows,  we forgive others.  There are no exceptions. Others mean all others.  An example from Matthew 7:3-4 underlines with a picture of erasing the bit of evil from another’s eye when we cannot see the log in our own eyes.

“And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye?”  

What creates harmony in our lives and in the world?  Clothing ourselves and practicing His perfect love without interruption. Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. I Corinthians 13:13.

Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. Colossians 3:14.