Above all, clothe yourselves with 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.
Colossians 3:14-15

As we continue our theme of thankful living, on Sunday we will journey with Paul who continues to implore the early church to be thankful in all things. The letter we will focus on this Sunday was addressed to the church in Colossae and they were struggling with identity, who to trust, and how to faithfully serve Jesus Christ.

Colossians 3, as scholar Rollin A. Ramsaran suggests, could essentially be called the “vices and virtues chapter.” The apostle Paul is encouraging followers of Jesus to shed the earthly vices of sin that are easy to cling to, yet that separate us from living the new life of Christ we vowed to follow through our Baptism. We are human and it is hard to get rid of anger, greed, and slander to name but a few of the tempting vices.

Instead, says Paul, “clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. We are to bear with one another, forgive each other, and above all love one another.” As garments, these virtues look great hanging on the rack, but it can be difficult to put them on and have them fit.

Our call is to love, and the more we keep Jesus as the example and pay heed to Paul’s advice for putting on these virtues, the better our chances of success. The greater the fit, the more genuine we will be about loving others. The more we put on the attributes of Christ, the more we will serve God and community as he did. I look forward to worshipping with you Sunday!

Brett