Colossians 3:12-15 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, forbearing 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 the one body. And be thankful.
After having proclaiming that we need to put aside anger and hatred, maliciousness and foul talk, Paul highlights the positive character of a Spirit led Christian. We are to be different in the world. We should shine as examples of Christ like character. This is not what I see from the world in which I live today, both those in the world and those in the church. I see a polarized society where division is the name of the game and any insult, malicious or worse is seen as fair play. We call ourselves a Christian country and yet the inability for people to show any tolerance for anyone who thinks differently than they do seems almost impossible to find.
We are called into the one body and yet it feels like many would refuse to participate if it means being included with the people on the supposed other side. I'm not saying that God doesn't care about right and wrong, but I know he cares more about our character which requires us to love our enemies. I don't talk to people very often with the peace of Christ ruling in their hearts.
What is more important that we win in some political battle in our country, or some social agenda between the 99% and the 1% , or that we show the image of the risen Christ to a broken world.
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