“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” (Colossians 3:12-14)

Our lives start as we are forgiven by God. Jesus came to give us life. The life we receive begins with God’s forgiveness. “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us.” (Ephesians 1:7-8) The redemption which forgiveness brings floods our lives with the abundance of God’s grace. We don’t deserve any of it, but God’s love through Jesus Christ provides it.

The abundance of God’s grace is to cover our lives just as our clothes cover our physical bodies. Paul would state, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” (Colossians 3:12) David called upon God’s compassion in his confession after his sin with Bathsheba. “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.” (Psalm 51:1) It is through God’s compassion that we are given forgiveness. Now we must clothe ourselves with compassion and give to others the compassion we have received.

As we cover ourselves in God’s grace, that grace is given to others with kindness and humility. Humility comes to us through the extravagance of God’s grace. We don’t deserve it, yet in God’s power He gives it. He valued our lives and relationship to the extent He became a man in the incarnation of Jesus Christ. We are now to value others. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” (Philippians 2:3-4) Grace continues as we respond to others with gentleness and patience, in the same manner as God continues to respond to us. Paul explained to Timothy God’s gentleness and patience, “growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.” (Colossians 1:10-12)

God’s direction for those who have received His grace and forgiveness, is to give grace and forgiveness to others, in the same manner as God has done. It starts as we “bear with each other.” (Colossians 3:13) This is to put up with each other. When people are in community, their differences stand out. As we grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ, we are being transformed and there are still times our present sinful nature comes through and there are struggles as we grow. These can cause tensions among believers. We who live in grace are to learn to put up with each other, remembering God has already put up with us with His grace. Now just as God has forgiven us, we are to forgive each other. Forgive because we have been forgiven.

It is now time to put on a spiritual overcoat, which will bind everything together as we bear and forgive each other though our compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. They all come together through love. This is God’s love for us and our love for others. “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” (1 John 4:10-11) It is through our love for each other that the world will know we are Jesus’ disciples, as He draws the world to Him while they view our love for one another.

In the Love of Jesus,

Michael Block