Colossians 3:12-17, “Above all, clothe yourself with love!”
On this first Sunday after Christmas, the text given for our scripture lesson is from Colossians 3:12-17.
This text is for those who are people of Christmas. In other words, Christmas is not for everyone. The angel announced the good news to the shepherds in the field, watching flocks over at night. In Luke 2:14, the angel said, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth, peace to those on whom his favor rests.” If we understand this verse accurately, we know the true Christmas is for those “on whom his favor rests.” “His favor” here means “salvation.” God’s salvation rests on those who accept God’s offer of salvation, which was offered through Jesus Christ, the incarnate God.
In this context, “peace” in the angel’s announcement means reconciliation with God if not restoration. God created Adam and Eve, the first people, in God’s image, to have God’s characteristics after Him. But because of the sins of Adam and Eve and ours, God’s image in us blurred that resemblance. I should say God’s image being blurred in us is an understatement. It is rather we resembled Satan’s characteristics, as the apostle Paul stated that we were enemies of God because we left God to follow Satan, adopting Satan’s principles in life. That was why our destiny without Jesus was eternal death. But God, whose essence is Love, offered salvation to humans through Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God; whoever accepts salvation through Jesus Christ can have “peace” with God, be reconciled, and be restored to God’s image.
Do we see here how Christmas changes everything? The Christmas, the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ, which we celebrate during this Christmas season, changes everything. Today’s text teaches how the people of Christmas should be like, who are being restored to the likeness of God, and how God expects us to be more and more Christlike.
As I mentioned, today’s text centers on the profound difference Christ requires from Christians, both individually and communally. As followers of the Lord Jesus, accepting Him as the Lord and Savior, Christians are described as “chosen, holy, and beloved. As such, Christians are to clothe themselves with “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Over all these things, we are to put on love (vss. 12, 14).
Are we Christians? Have we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior? Then, we are to be compassionate, kind, humble, gentle, patient, and loving. Christians are those who belong to God. They are set apart to be like God, being lights to those living in darkness. The people of God and the people of the world are vastly different. If we read previous verses of our text, we see the general characteristics of the people who belong to the world; they are living in sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed in vs. 5, and it details how the people of the world live in vss. 8 and 9. The apostle Paul urges Christians, saying, “You must rid yourselves of such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, filthy language, and lies.
Do we see the difference between the characteristics of God’s people and that of the people of the world? Can we clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, gentleness, humility, patience with love without abandoning negative characteristics? From the moment of accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are to get rid of or at least try to get rid of our negative, divisive, disruptive characteristics and to clothe ourselves with “compassion, kindness, gentleness, humility, and patience with love.”
It might be a lifelong process for most of us, but one thing is clear: we must grow in love. If we do not change our daily walk for the better, we miss the whole point. Being a Christian is not about how much we do but how much we are Christlike. We are to be more and more like Christ each day. God expects us to be like Christ in perfection. That is what Christian perfection is all about, what John Wesley taught.
To be like Christ, we are to be in tune with God, obey His teaching, and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, one cannot listen to God’s voice. Without the Holy Spirit, one cannot understand God’s words. Without us seeking God earnestly in prayers, we cannot receive the Holy Spirit. It is a hard job. Being a Christian is a hard job. God’s grace is not a cheap grace; God’s grace costs His own Son, sacrificing him in our stead. God, who hates sin, requires us to be holy as He is holy. God expects us to be different from the people of the world. Those people, including pastors, who say that God does not condemn people but accepts them no matter what they do and how they live are not biblical. Observe how they live and see if they study the Bible and pray. I heard some pastors and chaplains say, “The Bible I read, there is no God who condemns.” To that, I should say if anyone seriously reads and studies the Bible at least once, no one can say that there is no hell and that God does not condemn anyone. If that is the case, the angel who announced the good news to the shepherd on the first Christmas Eve should say, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth to everyone.’ Did the angel say that? NO! He said, “…on earth, peace to those on whom God’s favor rests.”
Being a Christian is a hard job; we must practice self-denial constantly. We have to tame our negative, evil characteristics daily. We must have an ear to listen to God’s voice and the heart to obey God’s will.
Last October, when I went to a prayer retreat on a mountain, I met this female pastor on the first day I arrived, who told me that I needed “gentleness.” She did not know me; I was not rude or hostile towards her. On the contrary, I took the elderly woman, whom she brought to fast for 21 days at the retreat center, in with me because this elderly woman did not have money to get lodging while staying there. Moreover, I gave this pastor an expensive bottle of premium-quality olive oil, which I brought there for my mentor, who was to join me a couple of days later. While I was talking with her, I smiled the whole time. Yet she told me that I needed to have gentleness. I instantly knew that it was the voice of God. In my early morning devotion, again, “gentleness” came to my mind the following morning. In the middle of my morning prayer, I opened my eyes right then and looked for the meaning “gentleness” in the dictionary using my smartphone. I had been seriously struggling with the meaning of “gentleness.” It said gentleness is “responding to others with humility and grace.” When my mentor arrived there three days later, she said that God requires the brides of Christ to have nothing but gentleness, humility, and love, which fulfill all laws. Do you see that God spoke to me three times about how I need to be humble, gentle, and loving? I knew all along that I had failed those unhoused people I mentioned last Sunday because I was not gentle, humble, and loving. My mentor said that people could do so much, giving all they possess to the poor and giving over their bodies to be burned, but to God, they mean nothing without love. She quoted 1 Corinthians 13. I cared, gave, and sacrificed my own comfort and means for them because it was the right thing to do as a Christian, not necessarily out of love. We can do so much thinking that we are doing them for God, but perhaps we are doing good things for our principles, being self-righteous.
I am struggling, praying, and trying to be gentle, humble, and loving. I share this with you because I want all of us to know that we are to grow in our spiritual journey; it is an ongoing growth. If we stop growing or never changing and stay the same as before, then we have to seriously examine ourselves, whether we belong to God or whether we are Christians.
Lastly, as we are called to be holy, loving, and separated from the ways of the world, the Christian community of faith should be different from worldly organizations. Peace of Christ should be the rule that reigns our church. Instead of blurting out complaints or anger-charged replies, we must stop and think that what we say or are about to say is a peace-loving or peace-making attitude. Vs. 15, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts since, as members of one body, you were called to peace.” If we are not careful with what we say and how we say it, we hamper other believers’ growth, damaging the church. I was shocked to find out the other day that this particular church member was even thinking of leaving our church a while back because all she heard at church in the backroom, in the hall, and in the fellowship hall was people talking about other people, gossiping, and criticizing and blaming. Others say that some people even curse at church, not knowing the difference between church and their front porch.
We are a new creation, newly born people by the blood of Jesus Christ. We are to remove old clothes and to clothe with Christ. We are co-workers of God to expand the kingdom of God by being Christlike. Amen!
