March through Colossians - 3:12-15 and 3:16-17

Well, I missed another post yesterday. Sorry about that! It’s easier for me to post something during the week, and I haven’t come up with a good system yet for posting during the weekend at home. Yesterday’s reading (Sunday) was 3:12-15 and today’s is 3:16-17. Those 2 readings really make up one paragraph, so I’ll just comment on both in one post today.

In this part of the letter, Paul addresses the Colossians positively about how they should relate to other people in the body of Christ. So listen up! He is saying to them and to us, “You have died with Christ! You have been raised with Christ! You have put off the old self and have put on the new self which is being renewed! So, put on all these things as you relate to each other.” He assumes that sin will be active and aggressive. He assumes that our relationships with others in the church will be affected by selfishness and anger. He says to bear with one another because he assumes we will need to do just that.

First, I think we should take note of the mercy and wisdom of our God in actually giving us these verses. We should do that for every part of Scripture actually. But what I was thinking about was that God would be merciful towards us not only in delivering us from the domain of darkness and transferring us into the kingdom of His beloved Son, but also in telling us what life in that kingdom should look like. He made us a part of His family, and He cares about the relationships among the members of His family. He wants us to put off the old way of life in sin (which is still around, by the way) and to put on the new way of life in Christ.

Second, I think one of the most powerful phrases in this paragraph is found at the end of verse 13: “as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” It’s so easy to let our eyes just run over the words “as the Lord has forgiven you,” without really taking it in. Take time today to reflect on that. How has the Lord forgiven me? Let your mind wander through Scripture, filling in the answer to that question with gospel truths. If we carry around in us a deep and genuine appreciation for the forgiveness we have in Jesus, we will be inclined to forgive others. Our relationships will be characterized not by coldness and criticism but by the warmth and love that Jesus Himself has shown to us. That’s part of how God wants us to live in His family, for His glory.

3:18-22 tomorrow.