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Paul's Letter to the Colossians - 5
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Colossians 3:12-17 New International Version
12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Paul's Letter to the Colossians - 5
Getting up in the morning is possessed of more challenges than what would first appear. There are those who are described as morning people. Some almost leap out of bed ready to face the day immediately, but others drag along for a couple of hours, needing a cup of coffee to get them going. It is reported that Albert Einstein once said, “The problem with the speed of light is, it comes too early in the morning!”Then there are others for whom waking up is not a problem but turning themselves out before the world presents unmistakable challenges. One of our good friends from days in Cobourg was colour blind. He also worked in executive positions where a shirt and tie was required. There were days when his wife would send him back to give another try to matching a shirt and tie to the suit he had chosen.
Whatever are the challenges that you face Paul tells us there are certain qualities of life that need to be the daily clothing of those who follow Jesus. Put on these clothes says Paul. There are two things that I want us to note about this admonition. The first is our text for today continues what we talked about last week. At the beginning of chapter 3 Paul tells the Christians what they need to put to death, get rid of, take off. In our text today, he tells us what to put on.
You may also remember I said last week there was an allusion to baptism. The symbolism of immersion baptism is death of the old life so that the new life in Christ can flourish within us. New clothes is also a baptismal symbol. In the early church, following baptism, white robes were given to those who had witnessed to their faith. The stole I am wearing around my neck is what we at Blythwood give to those who are baptized. It is symbolic of the new spiritual clothing they are to wear. Put away the old reactions and then clothe yourself, put on deliberately, in your thinking, these seven qualities that reflect the life and temperament of Jesus.
The first one is compassion. Clothe yourselves with compassion. Literally the word is, “bowels of sympathy.” The ancients believed that the emotions originated in the bowels. We don't think that way, although we get close to it when we say, “I've got a gut feeling.” You may have heard the story of the little girl who was asked to describe the parts of man. She said, “Man has three parts: the brainium, the chester, and the abominable cavity. The brainium holds the brain, the chester holds the heart, and the abominable cavity holds the bowels, of which there are five: a, e, i, o and u.” Many seem to be as confused about their humanity as that little girl. We must understand what these phrases mean. Compassion is what we would call a “heart of pity.” It is a sense of sympathy, of empathy with someone. Approach life with compassion; that is what Paul is saying. Put it on when you get up in the morning. You are a new man, or new woman; therefore, live that way!
After that, going a step further, comes kindness. Kindness is action that reveals compassion, action that arises out of a sense of sympathy. It can take many different forms---a smile, a kind word, a pat on the shoulder, an invitation to lunch, an offer of help. We are to put on compassion and kindness as we start our day and throughout the day.
Many centuries ago, a certain young man from a rural setting went to live in a large city and fell in with the wrong crowd. He lived a wild and dissolute life, becoming involved in many hurtful things which almost destroyed him. But he heard a preacher one day and though he did not particularly appreciate his preaching, he was struck by the man. He went to hear him again, and soon that preacher was able to lead him to Christ. That young man has become famous as the great St Augustine. This is what Augustine wrote of Ambrose, pastor of the cathedral in Milan: “I began to love him, not at first as a teacher of the truth, which I despaired of finding in the church, but as a fellow creature who was kind to me.” What an open door kindness can be!
The third quality is humility, which John Stott rightly calls “the rarest and fairest of all Christian virtues.” The chief Christian virtue is humility because it is the exact opposite of the worst of sins, which is pride. Thus, we are to put on humility, to think humbly of ourselves. As the apostle puts it in another place, you are to regard others as better than yourselves (Philippians 2:3). We are not to consider ourselves in any way as superior to others. A modern proverb puts it well, we are to remember that “all of us are made in the same mold, only some are moldier than others!”
The fourth quality is meekness. Not weakness, meekness! I like the definition that says meekness is “strength under control.” It is real strength, but it does not have to display itself or show off how strong it is. This is what our Lord beautifully displayed. He described himself as gentle and humble in heart (Matthew 11:29b). The first curriculum of the Holy Spirit is that we must do what Jesus said, take my yoke upon you and learn from me (Matthew 11:29a). Set aside your rights! Do not demand that you be satisfied, but, for the sake of a good cause be willing to suffer loss. Meekness is the exact opposite of rudeness and abrasiveness.
The fifth quality is patience. Literally, it is long-suffering, the enduring of another's exasperating conduct without flying into a rage. It is a negative term. It is holding back, restraining yourself from becoming upset or speaking sharply or shrilly to your mate, your child, anyone whose conduct you find difficult and exasperating.
Linked with patience is the sixth quality, forbearance. Bear with one another. This is similar to long-suffering, but it is the positive side. Literally it is “to uphold and support” someone. Not only to restrain yourself but to support others, encourage them. It is a great Christian quality.
The last quality is forgiving one another. Forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive. It does not mean that we are not to air a grievance we may feel. We are told in Scripture that if we have something against another to go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone (Matthew 18:15). We do not have to repress every feeling of injustice or unfairness that we feel. We are to say how we feel, but, having done that—this is the point—having gotten it out, forget it. Forgive it. Put it away. No longer let yourself think about it. Our model, of course, is Christ's treatment of us. That is what he did when we came to him. He forgave the unkind thoughts. the blasphemous attitudes, the grievous, hurtful sins that we have done. The Old Testament tells us that when we come to him he will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19b). As Corrie Ten Boom used to say, he puts up a sign that says, “No Fishing.”
Then, having given us these seven beautiful qualities, the apostle tells us to wrap it all around with the bond of love: Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. Someone has said it this way: “Put on the overcoat of love.” Love ties everything together like a belt. This, of course, is that quality of acceptance of others because you are a new person yourself. You are no longer the old person you once were. You have put that aside already. Treat the past as though you were dead to it, and be now what God has made you to be.
One of the most insightful and creative preachers of the 20th century was Fred Craddock, who, in retirement continues to lecture at conferences and encourage a new generation of pastors. As Craddock tells the story, he was serving a little mission in the Appalachians, and then moved to a little village on Watts Barr Lake between Chattanooga and Knoxville in Tennessee. It was the custom in that church on Easter evening at sundown to have a baptismal service at the lake.
“Out on a sand bar, I stood with the candidates for baptism. After they were immersed, the candidates moved out of the water, changed clothes in little booths constructed of hanging blankets, then went to the fire in the center.
“Last of all, I went over, changed clothes, and went to the fire where the little congregation was gathered, singing and cooking supper.
“Once we were all around the fire, Glen Hickey, always Glen, introduced the new people. He gave their names, where they lived and their work. And then the rest of us formed a circle around them while they stayed warm at the fire.
“The next part of the ritual was that each person around the circle gave her or his name and said,
“‘My name is …and if you ever need somebody to do washing and ironing, call on me.’
‘My name is …If you ever need anybody to chop wood, call on me.’
‘My name is …If you ever need anybody to babysit, call on me.’
‘My name is …If you ever need anybody to repair your house, call on me.’
‘My name is …If you ever need anybody to sit with the sick, call on me.’
‘My name is …If you ever need a car to go to town, call on me.’
“And around the circle we went. We ate. Then we had a square dance. Finally at a time they knew, Percy Miller, with thumbs in his bibbed overalls, would stand up and say, ‘It’s time to go.’ And everybody left. He lingered behind, and with his big shoe kicked sand over the dying fire.
“After my first experience of that, he saw me standing there, still. He looked at me and said, ‘Craddock, folks don’t ever get any closer than this.’”
In other words, because those folks were Christians, they put on new clothes.
