COLOSSIANS 3:12-25 (12)Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; (13)Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. (14)And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. (15)And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. (16) Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (17)And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him. (18)Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord. (19)Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them. (20)Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. (21)Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged. (22)Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God. (23)And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily; as to the Lord, and not unto men; (24)Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. (25)But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.
That's a lot to take in all at once. We will begin in verse 12 and dissect each verse to see what it is that we should be doing according to the Word of God. We may think we know what is expected and we may know in part, but it is always good to read it for ourselves and then ask God to help us get in line with His plans for us. That truly is the best way!
Verse 12 tells us to put on bowels of mercies. What does that even mean? This is a place of tender and sympathetic feelings. The world needs more kind, sympathetic people to meet them where they are, especially in the world crisis we are living in. It says to put on kindness. Just like putting a coat on before we go into the cold weather, we should be putting on kindness. We need to be kind to one another. It is a cruel world we live in and everyone we meet is fighting some kind of battle, whether we know it or not. We are to be kind to others, whether they are kind to us or not. What does it mean for us to put on humbleness of mind? It goes along with being meek. It is not thinking more of ourselves than we ought to; realizing we are all flawed human beings and we all need grace, love, and mercy. Do I have to tell you about longsuffering? It is having patience, suffering long with others. We may get frustrated or upset when others do not respond the way we want them to, or as quick as we want them to, but friends may I remind you that you and I are still on the Potter's Wheel. We are still being shaped and formed into the men and women God wants us to be, to reflect His image. We must be quick to help with loving kindness just like Jesus does for us.
In verse 13 it continues the list of things for us to do. It tells us to forbear one another. That means to not punish someone when you have the right to do so. It is being merciful just like God is to us. He does not hold our sins against us after they have been nailed to the cross of Calvary and cleansed by the blood of Jesus. He could have made us all suffer death but instead He gave us eternal life. We are to forgive one another. It does not matter who is right and who is wrong. Choose to forgive those who have wounded you. It is not worth it to hold grudges and harbor unforgiveness in your heart. It clearly says we are to forgive others as Jesus Christ forgave us. And verse 14 tells us above all of the other things we put on, we must not neglect to put on charity. Charity, or love, is the bond of completeness. When you love others you will want to show them mercy and kindness and think more about them than you do yourself. You will quickly forgive because you know what it is like to be forgiven.
We get a benefit if we are doing these things. Verse 15 says the peace of God will rule in our hearts. We are called to live in peace and harmony with other believers in the body of Christ, and we are to be thankful. I keep a gratitude journal and I found it changed my whole outlook on life. I journal at the end of the day what I am thankful for. I have a little journal I like to write my top three things in. I have another journal that I just write a few sentences. It caused me to focus more on the good things in my life than on the bad. It changed how I looked at things I once perceived as negative. Now I can see good in nearly any situation. It is wonderful how many benefits come from having a thankful heart.
None of these things come naturally to us. We only know to do good things from reading God's Word every single day. In verse 16 we are urged to let the Word of Christ live in us richly in all wisdom. When we fill our minds with the things God wants us to know, to learn, and to do we will respond in a way that pleases Him when troubles and trials come our way. We are to teach and encourage one another, warning each other of danger that comes from living apart from God. We do that in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. We are to sing with grace in our hearts to the Lord. We do not sing to one another, but our audience is One: Christ Jesus.
You may already know what you plan on doing tomorrow and all weekend long. You may have everything planned and ready to go. So verse 17 applies to you, too. It says no matter what you do or say, do it all in Jesus's name and give thanks to Father God by Jesus. No matter what we say or do, it should always honor our Heavenly Father and glorify the work Jesus did on the cross. Whether we are going on a trip, spending time with others, or doing routine housework, we should make sure we are loving others and following the principles found in God's Word.
Verses 18 through 21 are directed to the family unit. We wives are supposed to honor our husbands and respect them as the spiritual leaders of our home. We are to respect their authority and place as head of the home. We should be praying for our husbands who have a great responsibility to lead us and the children. Husbands should love their wives and not be bitter against them. If they come home to someone who is constantly complaining, ignoring them, saying unkind things about them to the children or others, it could be hard to want to come home. We need to make sure our home is a safe place for them. We want them to find refuge in our home from the unkind, cruel world. They shoulder much responsibility and will have to answer for the way they led their families and we must not hinder them. Children are reminded to be obedient to their parents because this pleases the Lord. It makes Him happy to see the family unit working properly. It will not be perfect but if we follow God's guidelines it can be close. Fathers are instructed not to provoke the children because it can discourage them. A child who is picked on and teased mercilessly will tend to rebel and withdraw. We have to be so careful to love our children and rear them in the fear and admonition of the Lord. They will get enough provocation from the world.
When we work for someone we are to do our best, not in order to please them or get a promotion or self-gain, but so we can honor God with all we do. We do not earn salvation by doing good works, but when we know what a tremendous sacrifice Jesus made for us, it will cause us to want to do whatever we can to honor Him and please Him. We may get a paycheck from that employer but our provision comes from God and He will choose any company or organization He desires to meet our needs, so we need to work enthusiastically and sincerely for God when we go to work. If we are doing yard work, we need to do it to the best of our ability, thankful for the opportunity to do things that others may not be able to do. If we have the mindset that we want to honor God with our words and actions, we will find the day goes better and we have that peace ruling in our hearts. We know from verses 24 and 25 that God rewards our efforts. We will either be blessed because we have done the things that please God, or we will be punished for doing wrong. God does not play favorites. He does not bless one person and harm another. He daily loads us with benefits. He loves us so much that He has ransomed us from our sinful ways and redeemed us to be a part of God's family. We have eternal life to look forward to.
I hope that if you have any bitterness in your heart toward others that you will take it to God and ask Him to help you forgive and forget. Let Him help you mend the breach so that you will be surrounded by peace and joy and love. I am going to work on these things today and all weekend and not just for a few days. I want to make this a way of life. I have been working on it for years now and I know God continues to help me learn and grow as He continues to shape and mold me into His image. I hope and pray something I shared today has been strength for your journey and light for your way. God bless you!
~Bridgett Owens
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