DEVOTION – DAY 349

Colossians 3:12 “A Christian’s Responsibility”

Colossians 3:12 “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”

The Bible often refers to the fact that Israel was called God’s chosen people. Equally, passages like 1 Peter 2:9 also confirms that Christians are also God’s chosen people. God sovereignly chooses us but the Bible also teaches every Christian that they have an equally important responsibility to live godly lives. In Colossians 3:12, Paul reminds us that it is because God had chosen Christians to be His people to be eternally safe, they must do their best to live godly lives. A Christian’s life ought to be filled with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

A homeless woman would seek shelter for the night along the covered walkways in front of a row of shops. But many of the shop-owners would be unhappy to find her trying to sleep in front of their shops. They would scold her and tell her to move away. So, this woman would keep moving until she found a shopfront that appeared to be closed. So, she chose that spot to lay some cardboard paper on the walkway to sleep on. The next morning, someone arrived to open the shop. The shop was actually used as a small church. He came early to prepare the place for service. He saw the homeless woman sound asleep. Although his initial reaction was to wake her up to tell her to move away, his heart was filled with compassion. He saw her misery and he decided to show her kindness. As he opened the shopfront, the sound of the metal doors awakened the woman. She was startled and began to clear the cardboard from the floor. The man went to her and offered her a seat, and he gave her a hot drink and shared some buns he had bought for himself, with her. He allowed her to use the church toilet facilities to clean herself a little, and he even invited her to join their church service later. Then, a church elder arrived. He told the elder about the homeless woman. The elder spoke to the woman kindly and got to know a bit about her background. Later, the church met and decided to offer the woman the position as a church caretaker. She could sleep inside the church on a small foldable bed. This was how this woman experienced firsthand, that the people of the church had shown her compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. In time, she too, became a Christian. 

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, Thank you for choosing us to be your people. Please help us to be more like Your Son, people filled with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience and all glory goes to You. We pray this in the precious name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Questions

1. What are some ways you can show compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience to others? Share.
2. Why is it important for a Christian to show compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience and other fruits of the Spirit to others? Discuss.
3. Share of an example of how you have shown kindness, compassion, patience and other Christ-like qualities that had caused others to want to know more about Jesus.