Good morning people who choose to put on what is from the Spirit of God.

Colossians 3:12 NIV Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 

A key part to our spiritual sanctification – the process of becoming more like Jesus – is to put some old ways off and to put some new ways on. Yes, it is a work of the Holy Spirit, but it requires our active partnership in what He is doing.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved.

I love how Paul reminds the church in Colossae that what he is saying is because they are God’s chosen people, and that they are holy and dearly loved. It is imperative that we know God’s starting point is His loving embrace of us as His children. Our greatest security in life is knowing that God accepts us into His family through the saving work of Jesus Christ!

Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 

Now saved, our partnership with God is essential. There are clothes that we must intentionally choose to put on daily. Let’s be honest, sometimes the choice needs to be made moment by moment. We know God’s kingdom ways through His Word, and yet, letting our light shine and clothe yourselves equally denote a decision of our will.

When people treat us poorly, we have a choice. We will either choose to react manward or we will choose to respond Godward. We will either treat people with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, or we will let them have it! Many times, our challenge is not that we don’t know what we should do, but rather, we don’t want to do it.

Jesus Himself struggled with wanting to do something different than the stated will of His Father. Going to the cross was a cup of suffering that Jesus asked His Father to remove from Him. Our cup of suffering might be different, but we will have one.

Wanting things to be different is not wrong.

That said, we still have a choice where we land: Living life God’s way or our way, but we can’t have it both ways.

What will you choose to put on today?

Watch my sermon: ‘Are You Moving in the Right Direction?’