“So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. 14 Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” (Colossians 3:12 – 17)

Let’s stay another day on this passage – “as those who have been chosen of God” – whatever does that mean? When I first felt God’s calling in my life, I thought I was special; God had called me, and that was a special thing. Over time, however, I came to realize that God calls each and every one of us. He just calls us to different things! First of all, God calls all of us to come to him, to experience his love. We Methodists call that “Prevenient Grace”, but it doesn’t really matter what you call it, so long as you know that it begins with God and we don’t have to earn it. We are all loved by God and called to experience that love.

But once we recognize God’s love, once our hearts are filled with it, then we have a responsibility, to love God’s other beloved people, and that includes everyone. Think about a much loved child; if that child has no responsibility to love his parents back, to behave in ways that show that he loves and respects them, he becomes a spoiled brat! If we sit back and think that God loves and favors us, to the exclusion of others, we are behaving like that spoiled child. It is our responsibility to share the love. We do that by being compassionate – caring for others who need a comforting word, a gift of food, a helping hand; by being kind – in your life today that may mean a generous tip for a waitress, a smile for a check-out clerk, avoiding a confrontation in traffic; by being humble – we are not “God’s favorite”, God loves every person, including that homeless man on the corner, that person picking ferns who may not have a green card, that mother who is having trouble finding food for her children; by being gentle and patient – look at your own family, are you gentle and patient with those who love you? This is what it means to recognize God’s love in our own lives; we then share it with others.

Sharing God’s love, living immersed in God’s love, is to live into the Kingdom of God, in the here and now. Most of us have not yet reached perfection in this, but can we just love others a little more today? and tomorrow? Can this be how we prepare our hearts for Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection?

Questions for reflection:

1. Where can you be more compassionate, kind, humble, gentle and patient in the next few days?
2. How does your heart feel when you do that?