As The LORD Has Forgiven
You,
So You Also Must Forgive
So if
you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ
is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above,
not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden
with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also
will be revealed with him in glory.
Put
to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity,
passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry).
On account of these the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient.
These are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life. But
now you must get rid of all such things – anger, wrath, malice, slander, and
abusive language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you
have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves
with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image
of its creator. In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised
and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and
in all.
As
God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves
with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one
another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other;
just as the LORD has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
Colossians 3:1-13
Stepping
outside and gazing heaven-ward on a star-studded evening can help to soothe
your soul after a trouble-filled day. When you peer into the night sky, you can
forget, at least for a moment, the cares of life on earth.
When
we try to imagine the immensity of God’s heavens, our problems seem trivial.
Yet God does not think so! With all the galaxies He has to attend to, God is
mindful of us. And not only are we on His mind, He cares for us.
No
wonder the apostle Paul advised new believers to set their minds on things
above. In doing so, we raise our thoughts above the level of earthly disputes
and focus instead on our loving, heavenly Father, who wants us to know Him, to
know how to live peacefully with one another, and to know that we can live
eternally with Him in a place even more beautiful than
the heavens.
Because God gives us everything, we owe Him all our
praise.
Our Daily Bread – September 26, 2008