"Therefore as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering" v12 Colossians 3:8-14 NKJV
In this piece of scripture, Paul is talking about taking off the old self (man) and putting on the new self (man) v8-10. If we are honest, we can all relate to the old self with its, anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language and lying or gossiping to one another. These are the hallmarks of life without Jesus - the way we used to be or were used to. Sadly, for most of us, they show their ugly head from time to time and, when they do, we feel ashamed and also condemned. However, straightaway, let us put in the bin, the feeling of being condemned. If we belong to Jesus, there is no longer any condemnation for us Romans 8:1. Jesus has taken that away. We are free from it. However, what it shows us, is that we are not yet free from the old self.
Relax, none of us are perfect, this is why Paul wrote in Philippians, 'being confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you, will complete it until the day of Christ' 1:6. We have a long way to go yet but, that does not mean that we should just poodle along not trying. We are called to put off the old self and put on the new, this means being renewed in knowledge and renewal in Jesus. We should keep trying - by faith. We will never be able to walk upright in Jesus without seeking help from the Holy Spirit. He is the one that can help us to remain on the right road. So we adopt these qualities as we surrender to the Holy Spirit and little by little, we are changed so that our lives become a refection of Jesus. At this precise time, you are a work in progress and are the:
ELECT OF GOD: You are one of God's chosen people
HOLY: You are set apart and sanctified for God's purpose for your life
BELOVED: God loves you so much. He adores you. He wants you to:
PUT ON TENDER MERCIES The compassion of Jesus
KINDNESS and HUMILITY. Be Jesus to people
MEEKNESS Have gentleness
LONG-SUFFERING. Having forbearance or patience - an attribute of Christ's nature.
This has the power to endure whatever injustice or
unpleasantness comes your way.
You are not there yet, but Jesus is pleased with your progress
Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard.
Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers
Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle
No comments:
Post a Comment
Leave a message