Here is the question; are you perfect? I can honestly say
that I am far from perfect and every day is a new adventure in the journey of
moving towards perfection. So, why do I bring this up? As I mentioned in the
service last Sunday (you can listen online on our message page www.mainavefellowship.blogspot.ca),
we are none of us perfect and my sins are no better or worse than anyone else’s
but they are all covered by the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. So the
question is this; are we ready, as a nation of believers, to lift one another
up rather than place more burden upon each other?
Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe
yourselves with tender-hearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and
patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who
offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above
all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect
harmony. Colossians 3:12-14 NLT
Read this passage closely – make allowances for each other’s
faults, that is, do not hold it over them for you never know the plank that is
in your own eye. As you treat others that is inevitably the way they will treat
you and if your practice is to deal with others as is written in verse 12-13
then will that be how others will act towards you. There is a calming aspect to
that thought – clothe yourselves with love, that wonderful binding agent, and
you will not only grow in peace but will also affect the harmony of the
community around you. And who are those around us? Look at the verses before
these.
Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your
Creator and become like him. In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you
are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric,
uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in
all of us. Colossians 3:10-11
In Christ we are all on the same footing, the same level and
since His love and strength is our guide and the spreading of His Message is
our mission, reach out in love, do so with tender-heartedness and kindness and
be patient because it will, in some cases, take time for His Message to reach
into the lives of those who are skeptical.
This Sunday, we continue with the forgiveness message.
Shalom
Pastor Todd
No comments:
Post a Comment