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12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.
Colossians 3:12-15
To put on, wear, dress or inhabit. They say the clothes make the man. Paul’s correlation seems intentional, indicating that the difference between believers and non-believers is how they view and pursue their relationships. (Galatians 6:9-10) He challenges the Colossians to see relationships differently. Having just outlined a variety of behaviors to abandon for the sake of the Gospel (vv. 1-11), Paul calls the church to dress with forgiveness and change their viewpoint by appealing to a higher plane. How do relationships shift from hopelessness to renewed hope? According to this Scripture, by putting on forgiving eyes.
Strained relationships, no matter how they got there, are not future focused. Offender or offended, each person, at best has cloudy or cataract type vision. Human nature is to focus on the hurt rather than the hope of the Gospel. Without a change in perspective, the blinders tighten and the focus becomes present pain rather than future hope. At its zenith, people will typically entrench in anger or just give up. Paul admonishes and exhorts the church to put those things off. (Literally; to cast away) It is a clarion call for outward change. Ordinary people are in conflict daily and handle it in ordinary ways. The church is to be extraordinary an contrastingly different. They are to redefine how relationships work. But to what end?
The emphatic language of the Greek indicates this is not an option nor suggestion. He simply commands that they; “bear with one another”. Each individual is called to this type of behavior modification. (ie. “you must”) This is not to abandon accountability nor is it in contradiction to the precepts of Mathew 10, 18 or Acts 13. It is an amplification of it. There are times and ways in which believers unfortunately, must separate. There are methods for managing discipline and disqualification but only when a person abandons biblical authority and rejects accountability. When believers are each willing to pursue peace in a Godly fashion, the emphatic rule is grace, and the path is forgiveness. (v. 13)
With the help of the Holy Spirit, the Lord commands his people to act, relate and function differently than the world. They are to act according to the measure of grace He has given them. To this end, the world will see Christ in us as we restore hope in relationships. Moreover when people change, God reveals to the believer the bigger picture and what restored future relationships can be. When each person takes upon themselves the pursuit of righteousness in changing their thoughts, words, and deeds, they forge new roads in relationships that simply cannot be seen in the midst of the conflict.
- Don’t see how you can get along with that person at church?
- Wonder how you can relate better to that person with an opposing personality?
- Wonder how that marriage can ever be good again?
- Wonder how you could ever follow that leader after what they said/did?
- Ever wonder how trust can be restored to a damaged relationship?
When we are tempted to give up, the Scriptures say the journey to hope begins by putting on forgiveness and wearing it like a crown. We are to have the attitude of Christ (Phil 2:7) toward each other and see with new eyes. Only then will we be able to abandon the lost cause mentality to experience the peace of God as it rules in our heart. With work and time, our eyes may be very surprised what they able to see, and our hearts overwhelmed with what they begin to feel.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]