Colossians 3:12 (NET)
“Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,”
If you have received Christ Jesus into your life as Lord and Savior, then I have great news for you: You are the elect of God! In Colossians 3:12 it says that we who have accepted the gracious gift of salvation from God into our lives then we are holy and dearly loved, the elect of God. This is so comforting and really fills my heart with; joy, peace, comfort, love, gratitude, and hope (among other things).
As I have stated in previous blog posts (see http://worshipeyes.com/enslaved-to-righteousness/), the idea of Lord is one of Master, or Ruler. If we are the chosen of God and are now under His Lordship, then we must consider how it is that He wants us to operate in this life to bring Him the most glory. In the next few posts I will elaborate upon the truths of Colossians chapter 3. In todays post we will look at the articles of clothing that our Heavenly Father lays out for us each morning to wear. Let’s take a look!
Did you know that God has a wardrobe for you to wear each and every day? It’s true. He wants you to clothe yourself before you do anything else each day (we do too, haha!).
First, I have to go back to Col 3:10 and mention that the first thing we must do is clothe ourselves with the “new man” that has been created in us by Christ Jesus. Then we need to look at Col. 3:12 in order to find out what our wardrobe is supposed to consist of. Let’s take a look:
A Heart of Mercy
This is the compassion, or tenderheartedness, that is needed when approaching any situation that we may face throughout our day. The meaning of this phrase is to have affection from your heart of hearts!
Mercy is to withhold the punishment that one may deserve due to a heart of compassion towards them. Jesus on the cross said, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”. That to me is a very merciful statement (not to mention the very fact that Jesus was hanging on a cross in order to mercifully pay the penalty that each of deserves!)
In God’s revelation of Himself and His character, He says that He is a God full of compassion and gracious (see Exodus 34:6-7). Also in Psalm 103:8 it declares that God is compassionate and merciful. As God revealed Himself to Moses He chose His words very carefully, and the first thing He says of Himself to Mosses is that He is full of compassion (merciful)! I think that is pretty significant, and I believe that may have something to do with why Paul lists this as the first thing for us to clothe ourselves with. We are to like God in this world!
One more quick thing to note is that we are a people that are constantly fighting the tendency to judge others, right? Well in James 2:13 it says that mercy triumphs over judgement. So, if you want to overcome that irritating urge to judge others then clothe yourself with mercy!
Kindness
I cannot think of a more attractive article to wear than kindness! I know that you know what I mean when I say that too. It is just so nice to be around someone who is kind. they are always thinking of others, looking for ways to serve, and always seem to have the ability to lift the spirit in a room!
It says in the Word of God that by the kindness of the Lord we were regenerated into a new life, not by the works of the law (Titus 3:4-5)! It says there that it was His kindness working through His mercy that saved us! Thank You Jesus! See, God is kind through-and-through! He is always looking out for our best interests. He is always seeking our good! As it says in Romans 2:4 it is the kindness of the Lord that leads us to repentance.
Kindness is one of those virtues that actually breaks the back of our enemies! It is so hard to be angry at a person who has the virtue of kindness activated in their lives, and so do not try to hurl insults or curses at your enemy – instead seek out ways to be kind to them and watch how they change! It is the kindness of the Lord that lead us to repentance, and I believe it is our kindness that will dissolve any confrontations that we have with people too!
You know, I think I am going to take stop here, and in the next post I will discuss the following three virtues; humility, gentleness, and patience. I do not want to go overly long on these posts, and I also don’t want to risk skipping over anything because of time restraints. So, please reflect upon these 2 very important characteristics (I am calling articles of clothing) until the next post comes out.
Do you have a Heart of Mercy right now?
Are you being kind to others in your life?
Be kind and have a heart of mercy as you walk this world as an elected child of God!
Until next time – God bless you richly!
