Colossians 3:12-16: a reflection

12Put on therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, humility, and perseverance; 13bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, if any man has a complaint against any; even as Christ forgave you, so you also do. 14Above all these things, walk in love, which is the bond of perfection. 15And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body, and be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord.

Paul urges the Colossians to clothe themselves deliberately with a Christlike character: Put on, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving each other, as the Lord has forgiven you. And above all these, he says, put on love, which binds everything together in harmony. Then let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, and let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. Notice the active image: we are to put these on, like clothing, deliberately.

Notice that this Christlike character is something we put on, a deliberate act. Paul does not say these graces will simply appear in us; he tells us to put them on, to clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, patience, forgiveness, and above all love. Just as we choose what to wear each day, we are to choose, deliberately, to clothe ourselves with the character of Christ, and to let his peace rule and his word dwell richly in us.

That gives us something to do each day. The graces of Christ, compassion, kindness, humility, patience, forgiveness, love, do not simply happen automatically; we are called to put them on deliberately, to choose them, to clothe ourselves with them as we go about our day. When you rise each day, put on, as a deliberate choice, the character of Christ: compassion for those you will meet, kindness, humility, patience, a readiness to forgive, and above all love. Let the peace of Christ rule your heart and his word dwell in you richly. Do not wait for these graces to appear on their own; put them on, choosing daily to clothe yourself with the character of Christ.

Lord, Paul urged me to put on, as your chosen one, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forgiveness, and above all love, and to let the peace of Christ rule and the word of Christ dwell richly in me. Help me put these on deliberately, each day. These graces do not simply appear in me automatically; you call me to choose them, to clothe myself with them. As I rise each day, help me put on the character of Christ: compassion for those I will meet, kindness, humility, patience, a readiness to forgive as you have forgiven me, and above all love, which binds everything together. Let your peace rule my heart and your word dwell in me richly. Keep me from waiting for these graces to appear on their own; help me put them on, clothing myself daily with the character of Christ.