“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. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.” Col. 3:12-15
Today, failure to nourish and pray for our relationships is like failing to drink water, get sleep, or breath air. The outcome isn’t pretty. Biblical relationships established in and through the blood of Christ, have the greatest power to expose our brokenness and reveal His grace, tap into our longings and… frustrate us beyond measure…all at the same time. Besides marriage, there is no other relationship Satan is more determined to crash and burn than the relationship between brothers and sisters in Christ.
So today come to God in prayer, interceding for Christian unity found in our Christian relationships starting at home with our families…then to those who are members of our church and then those outside of our church. Ask God to give us hearts like the one described above, “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.”
It is precisely because we are “chosen, holy, and dearly loved” by Him, that He fills our hearts with His “compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience” that enables us to, “bear with one another”, forgiving one another the complaints we raise against each other ,“just as the Lord has forgiven us .” He makes the bar high so that we have something to shoot for… goals that He has established for us to bring Him glory and to edify one another.
So our prayer is simple and essential. Ask the Father, Son and Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with the only love that is better than life, the only love that will never let go of us, the only love that is enough, the only love that enables us to experience His peace… the lavish, life-giving, liberating love for us in Christ Jesus. “And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.” It is His love in us that enables us to do this…to seek harmony over discord and disunity. Harmony may be harder to achieve but it is better than discord…and it is commanded of us.
Until the day He takes us home, help us to encourage one another and build each other up daily. Help us to outdo one another in kindness and repentance, servanthood and understanding, life-giving words and heart-nourishing presence. Now that is a goal worth seeking to achieve continuously. Oh…” And be thankful.” A truly thankful heart always has God’s best in mind.
God Bless y’all!
In His Grip,
Pastor Mike
