New Clothes

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues, put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity."
Colossians 3:12-14

Sometimes, we Christians, become so enamored with "spiritual" things that we forget some of the heart of Jesus' message. Really, there is nothing more spiritual than following the directions given in this passage of scripture. It is not that we must practice compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, we are to clothe ourselves with these things, live out these things. It must become as natural as putting on our clothes in the morning.
    We are to be people who forgive one another.Unforgiveness toward others is specifically listed by Jesus, as something that actually hinders our prayers. In other words, it will get in the way of our ability to effectively reach God. This is serious. The context in which this is written, deals with unforgiveness within the church. If we have things against our brothers and sisters in Christ, we must deal with them in order to eliminate any barriers in our relationships with God.
    The single thing that allows us to practice these virtues, is love. A book has many pages. Think of each of these virtues; compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and forgiveness, as being the pages in a book. The binding is love. Without the binding the pages may be misplaced, scattered, or forgotten. But the binding of love holds them all together in the perfect order with which God has intended. This is God's plan for our lives; to live in the fullness of love.
    A lifestyle of love will enable every good virtue. Love is absolutely essential as the basis of our Christian faith. Today, as you come in contact with many different people, look at them through the eyes of Christ. Remember that he loved you while you were yet a sinner. He loves all people in the same way, without favoritism. If we are the body of Christ, called to be his hands and feet in the world, we must reflect his love. God's love is foundational to everything we are. God is love...and we are called to be lovers.