In his brief letter to the believers in Colossae, Paul thanks God for them and gives a reminder of what Christ accomplished for them through his death and resurrection. He then goes on to describe the kind of life they should live and the kind of life they should not live, all in response to knowing that Jesus died and rose again for them.

In the NIV translation, there is a heading over chapter 3 that was added by the translators. It says, “Rules for Holy Living.” Often times we bristle at rules, not liking someone telling us what to do. However, these are set in the context of having been raised with Christ. To put it another way, knowing what Jesus has already done for us should make us want to live this way. These verses struck a chord with me:

Colossians 3:12-14 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 whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

I have seen these things displayed in the lives of believers, particularly among the congregations I served. I’m not saying that they mastered these virtues or had them down to a science, or that they were better than other believers – I’m just sharing what I’ve seen in my realm of experience. More often than not the believers I served did a good job of being compassionate, kind, gentle and bearing with each other. It was easy to see when someone was in the hospital or there had been a death in a family. But there was more to it than that.

I saw it in the way they were concerned for each other day in and day out. I saw it when they worked on a benefit for someone they didn’t even know. I saw it in the calls I got asking me to pray for a friend or neighbor who was going through a difficult time. I saw it when people called to say, “Pastor, I want to help my friend, but I don’t know what to do!” I saw it in the smiles and hugs and handshakes shared when we gathered together.

This had nothing to do with those folks being any better than any other sinners in this world. It was not because of their family, their congregation, or their pastor. It was because they were led by the Holy Spirit to know that they are God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved. When you know you are a loved child of God, new life is possible. And you have the most convincing proof of God’s love when you look at the cross and the empty tomb. With this in your experience, you want to follow the rules, live a new way, display the virtues described in this passage, and over them all put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

John described it this way: We love because he first loved us (1 John 4:19).