Holy and Beloved
.
Colossians 1:9-109. For this reason also, since the day we heard [of it], we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10. so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please [Him] in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Colossians 3:12-1312. And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; 13. bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.
Have you ever taken a job or agreed to lead a committee or organize a function only to realize you were in way over your head? Paul apparently never felt that way when he was bringing others to Christ! In his letter to the Colossians, he takes great care spelling out what kind of lives believers should be living. He doesn’t claim to live like this absolutely, but he certainly tried harder than most at that time or since. He was so grateful for his conversion, he dedicated literally every moment of his life and every ounce of energy working to encourage others to accept God’s amazing grace, manifested in Jesus.
Paul prays for the Colossians to “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit n every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;” This is what God expects of us as well. That’s a pretty tall order in my book! Paul is painstakingly clear on what qualities one acquires and demonstrates when one is living a life worthy of the Lord. To my mind, rather than get better, the detailed explanation of those qualities make it even harder!
I don’t have a problem ticking off each of the qualities listed in the second scripture passage. I do try to be compassionate, kind, humble gentle and patient. Of course, once I leave the house in the morning I often have trouble remembering this list! In all honesty, once I get out bed, I forget it all too often! But notice Paul uses a particular tense; he doesn’t want us to be compassionate, he wants us to be compassion. He doesn’t tell us that we are to be kind and humble, but rather we will be kindness and humility. When people look at us and how we live our lives, Paul prays they will see these qualities manifested in us.
Being a Christian is hard. God expects us to exude forgiveness, patience, gentleness, humility, kindness and compassion, just as Christ surely did. Exude means to project or display conspicuously or abundantly; radiate. Do you radiate these qualities? Have you abundantly manifested these characteristics in your life? Is your heart so full of gratitude and reverence that the world can easily identify you as “different”?
But there’s more! Not only are we to possess these qualities and to live them out each and every day, we are also required to bear fruit and increase in the knowledge of God! Now that’s really pushing the envelope, don’t you think? I guess if we spent all of our time and energy and resources toward accomplishing this kind of life and lifestyle, we wouldn’t have time for anything else! Well . . . God is a jealous God. He doesn’t want anything else in our lives! He wants us to work to bring about His kingdom on earth. And even tells us how. We just need to figure out how to be a little less human and a little more divine. No small feat.
This truth is why it’s so important to belong to a small group or a community of believers. We all need support, encouragement, direction and correction. Who better to walk with us than another believer striving to bear fruit and increase in the knowledge of God? Who are your friends? Who do you socialize with? Who do you work with? That’s where we start to do God’s work, both by influence and direct action. We attempt to live a worthy life so that others will see how they can gain access to the kingdom. By exhibiting all the qualities we’ve discussed, we leave the door open from someone to ask us, what is the source of our strength and joy? How do we do it? How can we in light of everything bad in the world?
Our answer? We are each chosen by God, holy and beloved, made in his image. He loves us so much he sent Jesus to die on the Cross. That’s we need to say. That opens the door. The Holy Spirit will determine whether or not your questioner enters.
My prayer today is that you remember you are holy and beloved. And that you are conspicuously kind, gentle, humble, patient and compassionate with yourself and everyone you meet.
Mary
Labels: Christ, compassion, gentleness, God, Holy Spirit, humility, Jesus, kindness, patience
