Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign.
[00:00:12] Welcome back to another edition of the Weekday Podcast. Thanks for tracking with us this week. If we can join you in praying for anything, drop us a Note at prayer. Sugarhillchurch.com now this Week on the podcast we've talked about what to put off, but in Colossians 3 it flips the picture and it also shows us what to put on. And it starts with a description of who you actually are. He says this in Colossians 3, starting in verse 12. He says, so as those who have been chosen by God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another, forgiving one another, whoever has a complaint against anyone. Just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you, beyond all these things, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.
[00:00:56] What's interesting is that before Paul gives a single instruction in the passage, he tells you who you are, that you are chosen, you're holy, you are dearly loved. And that order matters more than we notice. And the reason why I say this is because identity comes before instruction. We tend to think it works the other way, that if we act right long enough, then eventually we'll feel chosen, holy and loved. But Scripture flips the order. You're not compassionate in order to become loved by God. You're loved by God, and out of that compassion becomes something possible.
[00:01:26] Now, if you try to put on kindness, kindness or patience while still believing your disappointment that God tolerates, it won't last. It'll feel like you're acting. But when you put on these things because you know you're already chosen and dearly loved, it starts to feel like you're becoming who you already are. You have a wardrobe of one that is beloved. Paul's using clothing language here. He says, put on so compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, love. These aren't personality traits that some people have and others don't. They're clothes. You choose them every morning in the same way way that you'd choose a shirt. And some days that choice will feel natural. Other days, especially the person who hurts you, the co worker who irritates you, the family member who never changes, it will feel like putting on something two sizes too small. I want to encourage you to do it anyway, paul says. Just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Not because they deserve it, but because you didn't either and he forgave you first. The thing that holds it all together is love. Paul saves love for the last, calling it the perfect bond of unity, compassion, kindness, humility, patience. You can practice each of those individually and still fall apart under pressure if love isn't underneath holding it together. Love is what keeps patience from turning into resentment. It's what keeps forgiveness from turning into keeping score. It's the belt that cinches the whole outfit so nothing comes undone the moment life gets hard. So this week, pick one relationship where patience or forgiveness has been hard to put on. Before you interact with that person again, remind yourself out loud, I am chosen. I am holy. I am dearly loved. Then ask God to help you extend what you've already received. You don't have to perform your way into belonging. You already belong. Now live like it. You don't put on love to become loved. You put it on because you already are. Have a great day.
