Tuesday, April
18, 2017
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. Above all, clothe
yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule
in your hearts. For as members of one
body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. Let the message about Christ, in all its
richness, fill your lives. Teach and
counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to
God with thankful hearts. And whatever
you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks
through him to God the Father. Colossians
3:12-17(NLT)
In the nut-doesn’t-fall-too-far-from-the-tree
department: when our children and grandchildren
were really small we always had fun passing around their photos placed
alongside those of their parents and grandparents at that age. You can see the inherited features and play the
guessing game as to who they resembled most, and what character and personality
traits might also be passed along.
I don’t know if God does that with His family,
but there are some character traits Paul urges us to develop, even if they don’t
come naturally: tenderheartedness,
mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
On top of that lifetime-to-develop mega-list of goodies is forgiving! Oh, MY!
Have you ever had trouble with that one? After all, there are some things that really
work against being ABLE to forgive; memory is just not set
up that way. God did not hardwire us to
forget, and forgetting makes forgiving a little difficult.
But Paul
follows up the “commands” that we must be merciful and forgiving towards each
other with some really helpful advice on how to make it happen.
He says we
are called to live in-peace. In the
eastern mindset, peace is more than an absence of conflict or noise; it is a
positive condition that includes the very best life has to offer. That’s impossible when you have hatred or an unforgiving
heart.
The
medicine against such follows next in Paul’s advice; if you want that sense of
peace, Paul says here’s how:
And always be
thankful. Let the message about Christ,
in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the
wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a
representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.
A song of gratitude, wise counsel, and a constant
awareness that, as part of God’s family, when you come in contact with someone,
anyone; even that person who hurt you and made your life miserable or painful…you
are God’s goodwill ambassador…these are wonderful antacids for the caustic,
unforgiving heart.
For You Today
Got anyone standing in the way
of peace? That person needs to meet an
ambassador of Godly forbearance!
NOTES
