The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Colossians 3:12-14,
"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."
Paul points to those wonderful qualities that are manifested by our Lord, "compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience" as well as forgiveness in the face of a grievance, and most importantly, love. In Romans 8:29 we are told that God predestined that those who are his, those who respond to the gospel message in faith, that they be conformed into the "image of his Son." As we enter into a relationship with the Lord, we begin a spiritual maturing process designed by the Lord and marked by the qualities of his own character.
As we enter into the kingdom of God we do so as those who had previously been conformed to the sinful nature. A few verses earlier, in Colossians 3:5-8 Paul provides a listing of what those things look like, the things we need to put off from ourselves in order to grow into the likeness of Jesus Christ. He enumerates, "sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry... anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips" and lying. As God's people, these can be the very things we now become victims of from others as we are engaged in the process of becoming conformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ. And, our reaction or response to the provocation of others can become issues that can quite possibly stall that process, or perhaps even reverse it. On the other hand, I am convinced that these kinds of challenges are the very things God uses to bring us into spiritual maturity and so develop us into the image of Jesus Christ. As unwelcomed and unwanted as we may find these episodes, they can become the very opportunities the Lord uses to shape us into the likeness of his Son.
I note in Paul's exhortation here that he addresses the victims of someone's wrong-doing. This passage is not addressed to the perpetrators of those who harm others, but the victims of the perpetrators of wrong-doing. He doesn't specify any type of victim, but addresses all those who have been wronged in any manner: whether they have suffered physical, sexual, mental or emotional abuse. Whether one has been lied to, stolen from, suffered a breach of trust or simply treated in an unkindly or unfair way. After teaching us to set our hearts and minds on Jesus Christ, 3:1-2, Paul tells us to face these challenges and respond to them as an opportunity to grow and mature spiritually.
I suspect we may find ourselves repeating the same kind of opportunities until we have learned what the Lord has for us, and then when we do so, we move on to what is next. The Lord is faithful and provides us what we need - it is up to us to take hold and step into that new ground of spiritual maturity. "His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." 2 Peter 1:3.
I'm not so sure the life God has for those who are his is for the "faint of heart", but how wonderful it is, as we go through the process of being conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ, that he has not seen fit for us to continue to wallow in the ugly and repugnant sinful nature we have come from as we enter into his kingdom! I don't know about you, but I know how needful this process is for me!
Caution: "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent." Revelation 3:19. As painful as the process may be, God does some very amazing things in our lives!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
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