Colossians 3:12-14
Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
The old man within us is one of rebellion. As this is true, it will seldom be put to death without a fight. It will strive to remind you of what you are giving up and how much you are sacrificing as you try to live out this new life. It will attempt to draw your attention inward instead of upward. It is when our focus turns to ourselves that loving others becomes nearly impossible. When we are mainly concerned for ourselves, it becomes difficult to empathize, to put others first, to put on a servant's heart, and to be patient when someone else's actions inconvenience us.
However, when we rightly focus our attention and affections on Christ, all falls into place. It is in such a mindset that we start to see others as Christ sees them. Our hearts break for the lost and we long for their redemption, we want to love, serve, and seek after them because Christ loved, served, and sought after us. We are no longer easily frustrated because portraying Christ through our thoughts, actions, and speech becomes more important to us than our own agendas.
From where does this love flow from? Is it not from God himself? Therefore, instead of looking at these characteristics of such perfect love with hopelessness or as a list to be checked off through personal effort, let us look to the author and perfecter of our faith from whom come all good things.
Is your focus more inward or upward? Examine how you treat others, how easily do you get frustrated (yes even in the car or with your family), it may serve as a good barometer as to the wellbeing of your personal relationship with Christ.
|
|
Richard Brzoska, Cambridge, MA, 7 years at Hope, Collegiate Ministry at Boston University
|
No comments:
Post a Comment