Bible Verse of the Day Thursday August 5th 2021

Colossians 3:12-13 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.

We must first shed the old garments of worldly influence and inducement before we can clothe ourselves with the new garments of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. God has chosen every one of the followers and believers in Christ Jesus, and we are for sure most exceedingly and profoundly loved by the creator of all in heaven and on earth. The Holy part of this equation is where some people find themselves on a slippery slope. To be Holy indicates being set apart; God is holy because He is apart from all sin and evil. Our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus calls on us to be set apart from this world and all its carnal ways (2 Corinthians 7:1). God is not calling us to be holy as He is holy but to pattern our lives after the earthly life of Christ Jesus. By striving for this, although we will never achieve that in this life, we will find ourselves not wanting to stroll down the corridors of earthly palaces. Which in and of itself will by nature separate us from carnal and fleshly ways and set us apart from the world. After all, we are not citizens of this world; we are only here as ambassadors for the Kingdom of God (Philippians 3:20; 2 Corinthians 5:20). 

Some may ask what the two parts of this verse have to do with one another. The second part, forgiving one another and not caring around a grudge, even for a moment, would not be possible without the first part. Carrying a grudge hurts us much more than it hurts the person we are holding a grudge against. Sometimes that person we are holding a grudge against may not even realize that someone has anything against them. The key to the secret of being able to lay down the grievance is forgiveness. God loves us so much He left His glory in heaven and took on human form so that He might make the ultimate sacrifice on the Cross of Calvary to pay for our sins. So, the key that unlocks the shut doors of beratement is love (Matthew 22:37-39). If then our love for the person we are holding a grudge against is more significant than any love for ourselves, forgiving them would not be a problem, then the grievance disappears.

The act of forgiving freely and unconditionally is sometimes a difficult thing for Christians to do. However, the more we understand the love, mercy, and grace of our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus, the easier this unrestricted and absolute forgiveness will become. Forgiving does not mean that we do not remember the wrong done against us; we do not hold it against that person. God does not forget our sins. Instead, he removes the transgression of the evil from us; in other words, He does not hold that transgression against us (Psalm 103:12). This verse of scripture ends with the mandate from God to forgive others as God has forgiven us (Matthew 6:14-15).

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