Colossians 3:1-17 A Primer in Christian Living
All Scripture is God-breathed and useful, but there are some Scriptures that we can consider the Himalayan mountaintops of the Bible. In the next few months, we will be looking at a series of great texts that inspire and move us - the "Himalayan Heights" of God's Word.
Today's Reading: Colossians 3:1-17
Colossians 3:1-17 is a step by step guide to Christian living. It is a series of 12 commands, each of which builds on the previous one, laying out how we should live as followers of Jesus Christ. Each day, read the entire 17 verses, then meditate on the verse or verses that are the focus passage.
Phase 2: Out with the old; In with the new
Step 8: Put on love
14 Above all, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.
Phase 2: Out with the old; In with the new
Step 8: Put on love
Through the Bible Readings: 2 Samuel 15-16, Luke 24:36–53, Psalm 61:1–3, Proverbs12:27-28
If you wish to read through the Bible in a year, follow these readings.
Devotional: What the World Needs Now...
What is the marker of a true Christian, of deep spirituality? I have met Christians who insisted that certain manifestations - primarily tongues, or healings, were the marker of one walking closely with God. Others made certain rules the marker. The best Christians were those who didn't drink or smoke or cuss, who used a particular version of the Bible and wore certain styles of clothes. In some circles, spirituality and emotion go hand in hand - the more emotion the more godly you are. For many today, spirituality equals sound doctrine and "calling out" those who vary from your theological system in any way.
The word of God has a different standard. Jesus said, "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35) His beloved disciple John said that the marker of salvation was clear, in 1 John 3:14 “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers.” When Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment, he said that loving God with all our hearts was first. Then, he said, in Mark 12:31, "The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
God loved us infinitely and intended the church founded by his Son, Jesus Christ, to be a place of infinite love. Unfortunately, many churches spend more time biting and devouring one another, engaging in power struggles and church splits than in loving one another. We wonder why the world is not impressed with our faith? It is because it fails to see the love of Jesus Christ displayed in the followers of Jesus Christ!
In Colossians 3:14, we are commanded to put on, over all the other garments of righteousness with which we have clothed ourselves, the garment of love, which binds them all together and holds everything in place. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 that nothing else we do matters if we do not have love - it's all crashing gongs and banging cymbals. This first of the fruit of the Spirit must be the pursuit of our hearts.
We love because God first loved us. We experienced God's love in full measure through Jesus Christ, who demonstrated the love of God when he died for sinners such as you and me on the Cross. (Romans 5:8) Examine for a moment the love God showed. First, it was an active love. God's love isn't only about how he feels about us, but what he did for us, in Christ. And what God did, he did for those who were unworthy and could not earn it. God's love is gracious, given to those who do not deserve it, without regard to what they could offer in compensation. Finally, God's love is relentless and eternal. He doesn't stop loving us when we fail.
The love that we receive from God we must pass on to those around us. Our love, like God's, must be active. Love is shown in how we serve others, how we sacrifice, how we meet their needs and seek their blessing. It is not given to the worthy or the attractive, but, like Christ's, to those who cannot earn our love and can give us nothing in return. God's love compels us to seek out the oppressed, the rejected, the downtrodden, and show them the love of Christ. As God's love is relentless, so too must ours be. We do not stop when someone fails to respond, or when we are treated poorly. We continue to love as Christ loved.
The word of God has a different standard. Jesus said, "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35) His beloved disciple John said that the marker of salvation was clear, in 1 John 3:14 “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers.” When Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment, he said that loving God with all our hearts was first. Then, he said, in Mark 12:31, "The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
God loved us infinitely and intended the church founded by his Son, Jesus Christ, to be a place of infinite love. Unfortunately, many churches spend more time biting and devouring one another, engaging in power struggles and church splits than in loving one another. We wonder why the world is not impressed with our faith? It is because it fails to see the love of Jesus Christ displayed in the followers of Jesus Christ!
In Colossians 3:14, we are commanded to put on, over all the other garments of righteousness with which we have clothed ourselves, the garment of love, which binds them all together and holds everything in place. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 that nothing else we do matters if we do not have love - it's all crashing gongs and banging cymbals. This first of the fruit of the Spirit must be the pursuit of our hearts.
We love because God first loved us. We experienced God's love in full measure through Jesus Christ, who demonstrated the love of God when he died for sinners such as you and me on the Cross. (Romans 5:8) Examine for a moment the love God showed. First, it was an active love. God's love isn't only about how he feels about us, but what he did for us, in Christ. And what God did, he did for those who were unworthy and could not earn it. God's love is gracious, given to those who do not deserve it, without regard to what they could offer in compensation. Finally, God's love is relentless and eternal. He doesn't stop loving us when we fail.
The love that we receive from God we must pass on to those around us. Our love, like God's, must be active. Love is shown in how we serve others, how we sacrifice, how we meet their needs and seek their blessing. It is not given to the worthy or the attractive, but, like Christ's, to those who cannot earn our love and can give us nothing in return. God's love compels us to seek out the oppressed, the rejected, the downtrodden, and show them the love of Christ. As God's love is relentless, so too must ours be. We do not stop when someone fails to respond, or when we are treated poorly. We continue to love as Christ loved.
Can you imagine the effect in this world if churches and Christian homes became places in which true love, God's love, was demonstrated? You want to see revival? Pray for that, my friend!
Father, thank you for the love that gives me hope every day! May you shine your love through me.
Think and Pray:
Are you living in the love of Christ?
Do you love those who are unworthy, or only people who are nice to you?
When you think of love, do you focus on how others need to treat you, or how you need to treat others?
Do you love those who are unworthy, or only people who are nice to you?
When you think of love, do you focus on how others need to treat you, or how you need to treat others?
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