Quote for the Day
“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts…”
Today's Prayer
Father, thank you for your son Jesus Christ. Thank you that He lives and moves in my very being. Father, today I ask that Christ alone rule my heart.
Colossians 3:12-17
Colossians 3:12-17 (NIV)12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Message
In the few verses prior to this passage we had a view of the things that were NOT to be done, with an emphasis on how that is accomplished: by the power of Christ. As we read, “…Christ is all, and is in all.” The book continues with a very similar theme with a slightly different perspective. The theme is firmly planted that Christ is our power and Christ is our all. Verse 15 is very clear about how we are to clothe ourselves, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts…”We begin in verse 12, “…clothe yourselves with …” and a long list of seemingly impossible articles: “…compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience,” none of which were on the list of required courses I had in school. Yet these are noted as what we are to wear as Christians walking about this earth, as those who claim to be one with Christ. So it is not enough to NOT do evil but we must also do GOOD? The ability to accomplish this good is the same as what we discovered in the previous verses. The process is also clearly the same, stated to us in a different way to reinforce what we have been learning all through this wonderful book: “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts…” We cannot do it; we must allow Christ to do it.This lesson is easy for me to understand as I think of my own struggles with doing good. I can readily recall individuals that have come into my life who were seemingly impossible to be patient with, or one or two whom I had no compassion for. I even recall one I just did not want to love. And yet Jesus called us to love our enemies. Here we have been called to put on first the virtue of Love. What have we read here in Colossians and throughout the Bible? Christ is love; we must put on Christ! And it is the peace of CHRIST that is to rule our hearts. He alone can be patient with EVERYONE; He alone can be Love to ALL. It is not I who can have humility and compassion, only CHRIST living through me can accomplish any of these actions. By allowing Christ to be our life, ALL of these actions ARE accomplished! This week allow Christ to be your life.
