12 Therefore, as God’s choice, holy and loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
Reflection
Have you ever found yourself reading scripture and saying to yourself, what does this have to do with my life? Been there, done that.
For me, Colossians Chapter 3 is the opposite. It is loaded with good thoughts that we can put to good use. Chapter 3 talks about husbands, wives, children, parents, and people, as relating in a way that is appropriate to the Lord’s expectations. Being loving, caring, compassionate, and patient.
When Laura and I were preparing to be married the pastor gave us a copy of the standard marriage vows to review. Most everything was good except a very stark section that said, the woman must promise to obey the husband. We discussed with the pastor that Paul lived in a time where he might not have questioned the power structure of males/females or the relationships between master and slave. That sentence was removed from our vows at both of our choosing. We did modify it to read “to love, cherish, honor and respect.” That has always left me with a reminder to be discerning.
My study bible chooses to highlight the fact that any negatives in Paul’s writing must be looked at in the whole and are outweighed by Paul’s theological insight, along with bright, challenging, thought when he speaks about Christian freedom and the equality of all believers.
Love is a great virtue that can bond us together.
Paul asks us not to lie to each other. He asks that we consciously let our nature move forward to be more like Christ.
The following is particularly beautiful to me, he says that as we change, differences that have separated us no longer matter, and Christ is equally everywhere and in every believer.
by Clarence Beverage
For Pondering and Prayer
Something that has been recurring in my mind this year is the belief that every single person is God’s unique creation. That comes from biology, life experience, and environment. That has helped me to not lump people into categories and instead look at each person as one with potential and value and possibilities.
Pastor Joe’s theme for this last Sunday’s message was to explore the life Jesus promised us and being fruitful, having integrity and thinking about what we can do that will allow us to act from our hearts and the presence of Jesus to be more fruitful.
So, just one question this week. How do you feel about, putting into practice, forgiving as Jesus has forgiven you?
Prayer: Holy Lord, through the power that is in your Spirt, help us to be more positive. Please help us to put into our lives time to step away from the whirlwind, be at rest, seek your peace, and pray for ways to make our world just a little bit better. We pray these things in Jesus name. Amen.
