"Put on, Wear Love"

“So chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline.   Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense.  Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you.   And regardless of what else you put one, wear love.  It’s your basic, all-purpose garment.  Never be without it" (Colossians 3:12-14 MSG).

   Paul was never bashful about giving instructions for living the Christians life.   The Message translation above lists Paul’s instructions as garments to wear.  He’s right we can put these on, and we can take them off.  It may sound like a really heavy set of clothes, but this is what the well-dressed Christian will be wearing day to day.  These are not dress-up, going-to-church clothes, but our everyday going-shipping clothes.   

   Let’s take just a few of these to discuss, kindness, humility, second-place, and love.   Don’t we all appreciate kindnesses shown to us, and don’t we feel good when we are kind to someone.  It seems to resonate with the soul.  It is difficult in this world of fast-food, text messages, drive-through banks, and grocery stores that deliver to take the time to be kind.  It often takes extra time to sow kindness, but it is well worth the time spent.

   Humility takes many forms, but of the most often appreciated and least often given is the humility necessary to let someone else speak first—particularly in a group setting.  We all want our point of view to be heard.  We want to show that we may know best, and we want to be sure that others know it.  It’s hard to wait and let others speak.  Someone might say what we were going to say, and then he or she gets credit for it.   If we wait, we might not even get to speak to the issue except in agreement with someone else.

   Taking second-place has become difficult for us because we have been taught since childhood to “Stand up for yourself.”  “Don’t let people take advantage of you.”  In the words of Jesus as recorded in Matthew 23:11,12, we are told, “But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.  And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (NKJV).  In the Kingdom of God giving place to others is the norm.

   God is love.   In John 13:35, Jesus said, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (NIV)   Are we not all disciples of Jesus, and should we not all love one another?  Romans 13:10 states, “Love does no harm to  a neighbor.  Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”  Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13:13:  “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of these is love” (NIV).  I  believe that if we follow the teachings of the Word, and “wear love,” we will be well dressed all the time.  As the   beginning Scripture for this message says, “And regardless of what else you put on, wear love.  It’s your basic, all-purpose garment.  Never be without it.” 

Paul's Word to the Church in Colosse (2)

Look Up!

“So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it.  Pursue the things over which Christ presides.  Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you.  Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is.   See things from his perspective” (Colossians 3:1,2  MSG).

   If we are serious about following Jesus Christ, we have to see where He is going.   We have to have our eyes on Him.   If we are looking at all the trials and temptations of this world, we are certainly not looking at Jesus, and it is difficult to follow someone if we aren’t watching him.  

   How do we keep our eyes on Jesus?  Well, the Bible contains 66 books that all pertain to Christ, even if He isn’t mentioned specifically in some of them, and if we read the Bible, we are certainly taught to pray.  We attend church services, and we may even go to a Bible study.  These three things, Bible, prayer, church gatherings, should give us opportunity to discuss Jesus and His affect on our lives when we talk with friends, family, or fellow churchgoers.  

   There is one other way that I keep my eyes on Him.  I like to get alone in the outdoors, view His creation and think about all that He has done. Look up at the blue sky, the white clouds, sunrises , sunsets, and the stars and moon at night. There is much peace to be found just by looking up at the  glory He has created in the sky.

   Have you ever imagined having a conversation with Jesus?  Your answer to that question is probably, ”Yes, I pray.”  That’s a good answer, but conversations are two-sided, two people talking.   We need to be sure to allow time in our prayers for the Lord to answer us.  The Scripture above tells us to “be alert to what is going on around Christ.”   Listening during our prayers is one way to know what is going on around Jesus.  And, if we listen for Him and listen to Him, we will get to see things from His perspective.  Sometimes it seems hard to hear from the Lord, but the effort is worth it.  His word is often encouraging, and instructive.   Certainly the Bible is encouraging and instructive.  

   If we focus on Jesus, we might even get answers to some of the things that bother us, that cause us problems in this life.  Be assured that He is interested in all of our problems and is willing to help us through them.  So, Look Up and seek Jesus.   

Paul's Word to the Church in Colosse (1)

“My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving”   (Colossians 2:6,7 MSG).

   Paul’s writing to the Colossians is filled with advice, no, not advice, but instructions on how to live their best life in Jesus Christ.  In the passage above, he tells them that they already know what to do—just go ahead living it.  It’s easy to read his joy and confidence in them.  I enjoy the Message translation of the middle of the Scripture above: “You know your way around the faith.  Now do what you’ve been taught.”  Pretty straight forward, isn’t Paul?  Practice, no, live what you’ve learned.  It’s time to get out of the classroom and live the way you’ve been taught, and do it while giving thanks to God.

   He’s telling them that they learned about Jesus and how He lived.   All they have to do is do what He did.   And, through the centuries, that message comes down to us.  “Live the way Jesus did.”  So how does that fit into my daily life?  First of all, forgive.  Jesus said to forgive “490” times, which means live to forgive, no matter what.   Jesus even forgave those who cried out for and caused His death.  Wow!  That’s a lot of forgiveness.  I don’t know that I can go that far, but I can forgive the person who has been cutting me down at work, the person who speaks lies about me to my neighbors, the person who dented my car, the person who stole my bicycle.   The word from Jesus is “forgive” period.   It’s a difficult task, but we are expected to try.  

   After we have done all that forgiving, we are supposed to do it with thankfulness—thankfulness for what?  First of all, thankfulness that Jesus has paid our debt for sin.  Second, might I suggest thankfulness for the beautiful world that God has created for us.  Third, how about being thankful for our church and our friends who support us through our problems.  Fourth, we need to be thankful for our families, and we need to let them know that we are thankful for them.  But overriding all--most important--we need to be thankful for and to God our Father. 

   The word, “love” is not used in the Scripture passage above, but it is implied throughout the passage, and  we cannot live “Christ” without living in love.  

Am I  Waiting Patiently?

“But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently” (Romans 8:25 NIV).

   “I don’t know what subject to write about.  I need to know it soon.  Deadline is coming up.  Please, Lord, give me a topic now.  Wait a minute, that’s it.  I need to write about patience.”

   That’s a conversation I had with myself today while I was searching for a suitable topic for today’s blog.  I wasn’t being very patient.  In fact, I was being a little bit snippy.  Lord, I’m sorry.  You have never left me in the lurch.  

   I should have realized that this was the topic today when I went shopping at Costco.   Not many checkout lines were open, and I wound up in a line that stood still while the other ones moved right along.   Several people left the line in front of me and I wound up behind a lady with a full shopping cart.  Guess what?  She had three separate orders in her cart.  On the way home I changed lanes so I would be ready to get into the left turn lane.  No sooner had I gotten into the lane when it slowed dramatically and finally stopped far from the traffic signal.

   I should have known by this time that I should study patience because in none of these instances was I very patient.  I also have something very important that I need to decide, but I have to wait until I know some things that I don’t yet know, and it looks like it will be a while before I find out the necessary information.  I guess I’m in a good place to learn about patience.

   I’ve always said that patience is a virtue, which makes me wonder how virtuous I am--not very on my own, but I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.  1 Corinthians 13:4 is the beginning of a long list of attributes of love:  “Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud” (NIV).  It is interesting that patience is the first attribute listed about love.  So if I am going to love, I must be patient.  Ephesians 4:2 reiterates the importance of patience:  “Be completely humble and gentle, be patient, bearing with one another in love” (NIV).   

   Paul tells us in Philippians 4:6,7:  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (NIV).  That tells we what I should do about the important decision that I need to make—pray, and God will give me peace.  I will have peace because He will answer my prayers and petitions.

   In all of these situations, even the little ones, I need to remember the words of Jeremiah 29:11:  “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (NIV).  I can’t say that I have learned to be patient at all times, but I have learned that I need to be patient at all times if I want to have the peace of God, and if I want to treat others as I am expected by my Savior to do. 

  

How Shall I Live?

“Summing up:  Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble.  That goes for all of you, no exceptions.  No retaliation.  No sharp-tongued sarcasm.  Instead, bless—that’s your job, to bless.  You’ll be a blessing and also get a blessing.”  (1 Peter 3:8,9  MSG)

That’s quite a list of adjectives to be applied to our lives—agreeable, sympathetic, loving, compassionate, and humble.  And he doesn’t let anybody off the hook:  “That goes for all of you.  No exceptions.”  We are not even to speak back. “No retaliation.  No sharp-tongued sarcasm.”  But what are we to do?  Well he tells us that, also—“Instead, bless—that’s your job, to bless.”

   What does Peter expect us to do, be like Jesus?  Yes, he does.  If we are to be most successful in spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ and salvation, we need to emulate Him.  I looked at that, I read that verse again, and I said with all of my heart, “Thank you, Lord, for forgiveness.  I can work toward that, but I’m sure I will fail many times.”  I can strive to be like that.  I can set that as my goal each day, and some days I will do better than other days.  Every morning, I can pray that the Lord will lead me in such a manner that I will reflect His love for all of mankind.  

   The world will certainly react to anyone who emulates Jesus Christ, some with anger and some with acceptance.  That’s the way they reacted to Jesus, and Jesus told His disciples in John 15:18,20b:   “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first….If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.   If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.”  (NIV)  Jesus did not quit speaking because some people hated Him; He kept on because some people loved Him and obeyed what He said.  That’s what he expects of us.  He didn’t say it would be easy.  But He did say that it would bring glory to both Him and the Father and would usher others into His eternal kingdom. 

   Though I fail at times, I will strive to reflect the love of Jesus Christ to all that I meet.  In Romans 12:18 we are told, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” (NIV)  “AS FAR AS IT DEPENDS ON ME…”