DEVOTION – DAY 189

Colossians 3:12-14 “Christ-likeness To Others.”

Col.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 together in perfect unity.”

God has sovereignly chosen some for eternal salvation. Those who have received Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior are the chosen people. Being chosen comes with it the responsibility and obligation to live godly lives. Godly lives should reflect compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. These are some of the qualities that Jesus Christ exhibited when He came to earth in human form. Godly lives also mean there is no room in our lives for holding grudges and unforgiveness. Instead, we are to forgive all grievances and to show love to others.

During this Covid-19 pandemic, we have seen the best and the worst in people. The ugly side of people can be seen in the way people including some Christians, hoard things like face masks, sanitizers and toilet paper when they were in short supply. There was also the sad case of a man who came to our church for help when his own church refused to help him. He wasn’t asking for much – just enough to repair his car so that he could get back to work to support himself. He was out of work for some months because of the pandemic. His church refused to help him saying that there were too many cases needing help. His church was a large Church! 

We also saw Christians helping each other in their time of need. Many in our Myanmar congregations drew from their savings to help their fellow Myanmar members who had lost their jobs, and needed some funds to pay bills like rentals. Church members sponsored food and groceries to help those in need. Others offered to help distribute the groceries. The needs were many but the funds poured in to meet these needs. This is because God’s chosen people through their giving showed compassion, kindness, love and concern for their fellow brothers and sisters. May such acts cause others who have acted selfishly to be reminded of Col.3:12-14 and begin to show love, compassion, kindness, patience, gentleness and humility to others. For that is what being God’s chosen people mean.

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, we thank you for reminding us to show compassion, kindness, gentleness, patience, humility and love to others. Help us to do so for you have shown us all these things in the first place. We should show these qualities to others for your glory. In the name of the Lord Jesus we pray. Amen.

Questions

• What grievance do you harbor against others that you need to forgive?
• How can you show compassion and kindness to others?
• How can you show gentleness, patience and humility in a situation this week?
• Why is it important that Christians exhibit such Christ like qualities? Discuss.