¹² Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. ¹³ Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. ¹⁴ Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in , harmony. ¹⁵ And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

¹⁶ Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. ¹⁷ And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

Colossians 3:12-17

Dear God, I like the idea of clothing myself in “tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” I don’t always do it, but I like the idea of it. I like the idea of allowing for the faults of others, forgiving anyone who offends me, clothing myself in love, and allowing myself to be bout to others in harmony. I don’t always do it, but I like the idea of it. I like the idea of letting Jesus’s peace rule in my heart, living in peace with others, and always being thankful. I don’t always do it, but I like the idea of it.

So what keeps me from doing these things? Simply put, I think it almost always comes back to the soil of my heart and what I give the Holy Spirit to work with. Do I allow thorns to grow? Do I allow the cares of this world to distract me? What does it take to get me on my knees in front of you? Do I do it on my own, or does it take some sort of stress or tragedy to do it?

Forgiveness seems to be a theme of the last week for me. I’ve come across it in a few different places. A big one was the Bible Project podcast about it from the Lord’s Prayer, and specifically the part about forgiving others as you forgive me. Now, here it is again. It’s important to Paul as well. He knows I need forgiveness to be a part of my nature. The interesting thing to consider is that you need it to be part of your nature as well. It’s not only healthy for me to forgive, but it’s healthy for you to forgive me. Such a weird thing to consider!

Father, help me to love with your love, forgive with your forgiveness, serve others with your strength, and teach others as you teach me. Teach me through the people around me. Show me where I am wrong and doing harm. Show me what I’m doing well and need to lean into. Use my little life for your glory so that others might glorify you through the life I live. And help me to just know you better.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen