“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”
~ Colossians 3:12
Hi James and Ellen,
What kind of clothes are you wearing? Are you wearing compassion or are you wearing antagonism? Are you wearing kindness or are you wearing animosity? Are you wearing humility or are you wearing arrogance? Are you wearing gentleness or are you wearing abhorrence? Are you wearing patience or are you wearing annoyance? Paul in Colossians 3 tells the guys and gals who are Colosse Christ-follower community adherents what their Father God expects them to wear and not wear. Their Father God warned them to never wear greed, lust, immorality, dirtiness and indecent desires. Their Father God at the same time expected them to wear love over the compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience ‘clothes’ that He expected them to always wear. When a guy, gal or kid enters into the ‘Body of Christ’ – which is when the guy, gal or kid passes through the faith/grace door that God has each one of His specially elected guys, gals and kids to go through after He – as God the Spirit, leads the guy, gal or kid to makes a decision of faith to believe in what He – as God the Son, did on a cross and in a tomb, each guy, gal and kid will leave behind at the faith/grace door’s entrance a corrupted body that was wearing filthy, sullied clothes and they will be given as they pass through the faith/grace door a justified new body that God – as God the Spirit, will redress in the image of God – as God the Father.
What kind of lives do you want to live during your life tenures on planet Earth? Do you want to live your lives different than how other kids are living their lives on planet Earth? A guy, gal or kid who is in the ‘Body of Christ’ is no different in the eyes of God – as God the Father, than any other guy, gal or kid who is in the ‘Body of Christ’. What do you think that God expects you to do to live your lives for His sake? God expects His specially elected guys, gals and kids to with wisdom teach and admonish or caution each other about what they are to be always wearing. God expects His specially elected guys, gals and kids to be always showing their thankfulness and gratitude to Him by singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to Him. God expects His specially chosen guys, gals and kids to be always saying every word and doing every deed in the name of His Son – Jesus Christ. God expects a married Christ-follower guy to always love his wife so that his wife will unreservedly submit to his headship of her home and life. God expects a dad and ma to always make their kids so important in their lives that their kids will want to obediently obey them. In the letter that Paul scribed to the Colosse Christ-follower community of guys and gals, Paul expressed his disapproval of an emerging rules oriented life and worship practice that some of the guys and gals were advocating. Paul made it very clear in verse 12 to the Colosse Christ-follower community of guys and gals how God saw them and what He expected from them when he scribed “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”
Your grandpaa yesterday had the opportunity to send you something that was inspired from one of his favorite chapters in the Bible. Your grandpaa now has the opportunity to write something that is being inspired from another one of his favorite chapters in the Bible. Your grandpaa often takes the opportunity to tell guys, gals and kids about the verse where his Father God – through Paul, clearly explains to the Colosse Christ-follower community of guys and gals that they have been specially chosen by Him, that they are holy in His eyes and that He completely and totally dearly loves them. How does it feel to know that your Father God has chosen you to be His adopted kids? How does it feel to know that you are being seen by your Father God as being totally perfect? How does it feel to know that you are unconditionally loved by your Father God? How do you think that God looks at and feels about all the other kids who He has led – as God the Spirit, to the faith/grace door to make a decision of faith? Just as your Father God chose you, sees you as holy and loves you, Your Father God has also chosen, sees as being holy and categorically dearly loves all the other kids who He has led – as God the Spirit, to the faith/grace door to make a decision of faith. Your grandmaa and grandpaa know that they need to see each guy, gal and kid who has passed through the faith/grace door in the same way that their Father God sees these guys, gals and kids – which is that they have a very special place in their Father God’s perfect plan, that they are completely perfect in their Father God’s eyes at that exact moment in their life journeys and that they are unqualifiedly dearly loved by their Father God just as their Father God chose you, sees you holy and loves you without reservation. Your grandmaa and grandpaa always consciously accepted unconditionally each guy who agreed to study in the contextualized, non-formal Bible education programs that your grandmaa and grandpaa were instrumental in implementing. Your grandmaa and grandpaa always made a deliberate effort to unconditionally accept each guy and gal who were on the summer teams that they administrated and led. Your grandmaa and grandpaa unequivocally know that their Father God – as being a sovereign God, has a prepared plan for each one of His specially elected guys, gals and kids. In the middle of the two dressing code verses, God – as God the Spirit, had Paul tell the Colosse Christ-follower community guys and gals that no guy or gal is to hold a grievance – that each guy and gal is to forgive any guy or gal who has caused a grievance in his or her life just as God – as God the Father, forgave him or her through what took place on a cross when He allowed His Son – Jesus Christ – to have His life sacrificed as a ransom payment to cover their iniquities.
Colossians 3 (502)