Monday, November 20, 2023
Thankful for New Life – Colossians 3 submitted by Kay Crumley
Paul is writing to the Christians in Colosse and telling them they have changed, become a new person because they are not the children of God. Jesus is God’s Son, those who have accepted His gift of salvation are adopted into the family of God. That means we are now members of HIs family and all that His family represents.
Consider your earthly family during this Thanksgiving season. Most of us have at least one family member we consider the head, patriarch of matriarch, who gathers all together for celebrations and we respond to them in various ways. Not all families are cohesive or loving, yet we may be expected to spend time with them. Hopefully your family is loving and kind to their members. We know what to expect when families are together because we have spent time getting to know each other and can anticipate how the day will go.
As believers we have a new family, the family of God. Paul spent the next few verses listing the things we must take out of our lives because we are now His. The list includes lust, greed, anger, slander, dirty language, and all our sinful nature. Having stripped of the sinful nature we must put on our new nature. Just as we take off old, worn, dirty clothes that have become useless in our lives we must rid ourselves of our sinful nature. We replace that with a nature that reflects God’s nature, to become like Him. We are no longer identified by our nationality, our skin color, our economic status, or our wealth. Christ lives in all of us and that’s all that matters.
He doesn’t just tell us what to get rid of, leaving us empty and unsure of our new character. In verses 12-15 Paul lists the character we are to have.
Colossians 3 (NLT)
12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
Verse 12 opens with some great attributes for His people. We are to be holy, and He loves us. Holy is used to described being set apart, we are to separate ourselves from sin. God is holy, completely separate from sin, He is uniquely God. As His people we are to be holy, morally pure, to reflect the holiness of our Father, God. Why? Because He loves us, His chosen, elect, people who have become members of His family. We will often find that we strive to dress like or have the same style as those we admire. They are so attractive to us that we want to emulate them by how they look. We should love God in that way. We are to be so in awe of Him, His character, that we want to be like Him, to show His characteristics to those around us.
What are those character traits we must have to be like Him? Paul lists several, tenderheartedness, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. We need to learn to forgive those who may have offended us. That means we are to love one another. Love is not just an emotion; it is a behavior. We are to demonstrate our love by how we behave toward them. Putting other’s needs before our own is part of being humble. We are to seek the best for others and not put our own ambitions first. This then will lead to peace and harmony between the community/family of believers.
Finally, Paul tells us too always be thankful. That is not based on our circumstances, whether we have all we desire, but on our relationship with God. In Romans 8 Paul describes the life of a believer, it isn’t always easy or without difficulties. However, because we have the promises of God to love us eternally and always be with us, Paul concludes in verse 31, If God is for us who can stand against us? With God on our side, we have the Holy One with us and are assured of His Love. That is the greatest reason to be always thankful in every situation. He upholds us in His righteous right hand, Isa 41:10.
