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"Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection."
(Colossians 3:12-15)
Followers of Jesus have been chosen by God. We have a new nature; we no longer live by the passions that once dominated us. Christ is our life; the Holy Spirit lives within us, and we live differently.
We have put off the old garments of sin and have been newly clothed spiritually by God to live and act in a way that is very different from the world.
Notice these new garments we are to put on: tender mercies (having sympathy and extending mercy), kindness (being friendly and good to others), humility (not necessarily thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less), meekness (being gentle and humble), longsuffering (being patient).
Verse 13 teaches us that we are to bear with one another. We are to extend grace to another person and give preference. This is just the opposite of selfishness which comes so naturally to all men and women. I must fight this battle daily.
Paul elaborates upon forgiveness. It is really a silver bullet in our war against our old nature. It is so easy to harbor resentment and choose not to forgive. When people hurt us, our first reaction is often to retaliate, not to forgive. But that is not the way of Christ; He calls us to a higher plane of living. Even as Christ has forgiven us, we must forgive others. Forgiveness does not mean forgetfulness. Nor does it mean you are to be a physical or emotional punching bag to anyone. I have learned the hard way that I simply cannot help overly critical, mean, and toxic people. I forgive but do not associate with them.
The apex of the life we are to put on, which is most reflected in Jesus, is love. Paul calls agape (love) the bond of perfection.
As I read Scott Drew's book, The Road to Joy, I thought he would go deeper into sports and Baylor winning the 2021 men's basketball national championship. He did cover that climactic event in his life, but the more I read, the more I realized that was secondary to him. The book goes deeper into living the life Christ would have us live. Each chapter begins with a Scripture verse. Toward the end of the book, he writes about how they saw teammates come to faith in Christ and follow Jesus in baptism.
One of the more revealing things in the book was not written by Coach Drew but by the co-author of the book, Don Yeager. He writes the Afterword and mentions that he has written over 30 books with some world renowned athletes. He writes "Never, in all my time as a writer, have I worked with someone who so relentlessly sought to serve others and deflect attention as Scott Drew." (p. 209) He writes about how, when Coach Drew first arrived at Baylor 19 years ago, people could not believe that this baby-faced Christian from Indiana was the real deal. He inherited a program where one of the players murdered a teammate, and there was corruption even with the head coach. It was a program in shambles, and there was consideration of giving the basketball program at Baylor the death penalty. That is the culture Scott Drew inherited. But in time, everyone saw who Drew was, "a man who was so sold out to his relationship with God that it motivated him to do the things it said in the Bible—namely, loving others as much as you love yourself. What a concept." (p. 210)
Are you putting off the old man and being renewed in Christ day by day? It can be done. Men like Scott Drew will tell you it is not an easy path, but it is most rewarding. Pray for me, as I also pray for you, that we will be the people of God He calls us to be. May we put off the old and put on the new in Christ!
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