God’s Required Clothing

March 17, 2016/CathyChung/

Topics to Dig Into

Who is He?

What is God like? Who is this man Jesus? How can we understand the Holy Spirit?

The Visible God

God is present and active in our lives, often working through people and ‘coincidences’. Thank and praise Him!

Making it Practical

Following Jesus in today’s world can be challenging. But living according to Jesus’ teaching is incredibly worthwhile. Call it life-changing.

He Knows You

God’s love is unconditional. He knows our hearts and continually invites us into relationship.

Ah-Ha!

Learning about the culture and language of Bible times can reveal new meaning in familiar scriptures. Let’s call them ah-ha moments.

Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
Colossians 3:12 (NLT)

I won’t mention any names, but the word ‘mercy’, reminds me of an unpleasant childhood game in which someone painfully twists another’s arm until they beg for mercy by saying ‘uncle’. Did you play that game? Were you the uncle or the victim?

Mercy is granted by the one who has power to harm you. This is slightly different from grace, or undeserved love, which anyone can offer. Mercy is given from a position of power.

Because God chose us and loves us, we’re told to clothe ourselves with not just mercy, but tenderhearted mercy. It’s more than a free pass. It’s a pass with good wishes. So when we’d like to twist someone’s arm, instead of just begrudgingly letting go, we must tenderly rub their arm.

I love that we’re told to clothe ourselves with these qualities. Just as we select our shirt, pants, socks, and shoes every
day, we must also choose to wear mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. They create a beautifully coordinated outfit that clashes with anger, bitterness, jealousy, spite, and pride.

Will you please read the short verse again?
Did you notice the word ‘must’?

This isn’t an option. It’s a required uniform.

Are you wearing mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience?

#SeedsOfScripture #mercy #humility #gentleness #kindness #patience

2 Comments

Anonymous on March 21, 2016 at 2:04 AM

I love this one… Thanks for sharing your wisdom and nuggets.. I needed to hear this again. I agree the word clothe is very fitting and a good metaphor.

Reply
Anonymous on March 21, 2016 at 2:06 AM

YES, CATHY, I AM WEARING MERCY, KINDNESS, HUMILITY, GENTLENESS AND PATIENCE AS MY CLOTHING CONSTANTLY, IN HONOR OF WHAT MY FATHER IN HEAVEN HAS GIVEN ME, TO BE A LOVING AND CARING HUMAN! ALLELUIA!
YES……….. WE TRY…………. BUT WE DO TRY. AND YES, WE DO MAKE MISTAKES, BUT WHEN WE ARE AWARE OF OUR MISTAKES, WE KEEP ON TRYING HARDER!!! THANK YOU, LORD. I AM ALWAYS THINKING OF WHAT GOD WANTS ME TO DO, AND THAT IS WHAT MAKES ME 'GO FOR THE GOOD!' WE TRY HARD!

Reply

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Psalm 119:105

Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.

Ephesians 3:17 (NLT)

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John 15:5 (NLT)

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