God's Chosen (Liz Morris)

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“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

 

It’s easy to forget that we have been chosen by God to be part of His family and the ramifications of this are endless! It is not an accident that you found Christ, you were pursued, and you are dearly loved. In fact, God wants nothing more from you than to walk and talk with you, like he did with Adam and Eve in the garden and He has created eternity for our relationship to continue forever with Him!

 

Mind-blowing!

 

Paul reminded the Christians in Colossae that they were God’s chosen people and as such, reminded them to live under the grace of the knowledge that they were loved and forgiven. He was reminding them to forgive one another and embrace compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience in their relationships with each other. These traits are cultivated in us through our relationship with Jesus and as His disciples, we can be known for these traits and have a powerful impact on the world we live in.

 

We all too easily fall short of them though, we get caught up, like the Colossians did, in grievances and complaints, or thinking life is unfair or embracing teachings or philosophy’s that are not what Jesus taught and that can undermine our faith. Instead of allowing these distractions to pull apart their community of faith, Paul points the Colossians and us to the love of Jesus, who extends complete forgiveness to us and we, in turn, must extend that love and forgiveness to others in order to participate in the unity of the body of Christ.    

 

Let’s pray - Jesus we ask you to use your authority in our lives to bring our hearts and minds in line with the example you set for us for everyday living. Help us to cultivate these traits to honour you Lord and to stand out as God’s chosen people. Amen.

Liz Morris

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