Living As God’s Chosen People, Holy and Dearly Loved!

“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. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” – Colossians 3:12-15 NIV

The world urges us to love only the ones who has loved us, not to forgive our enemies, take revenge at our enemies and do whatever it is comfortable in our hearts, such as looking to our own interests before searching interests of others. If we feel completely comfortable and satisfied, then we can take time to make others feel comfortable and satisfied, the same way as we feel. However, the peace of Christ is completely opposite to the peace of the world (John 14:27). To experience and have the peace of Christ in our lives, we really have to unite with one another from our souls, hearts and minds (Philippians 2:1-2), and there must be no divisions between others and us (1 Corinthians 1:10). This is because each one of us are members of Christ’s body (1 Corinthians 12:27). This means we are like broken pieces of His body. Therefore, all of us ought to be one in Christ as God and Jesus are one, and as Christians are not meant to live and doing life alone. We need community. For instance, if we fall into sin without realizing it, then we may live our Christian lives wrong way according how God wants them to be and there would be nobody to bring us back to Jesus Christ if there is no community around us (Galatians 6:1-2). Overall, the peace of Christ means not only we are able to feel comfortable and satisfied but it also means having God, the first and foremost (Philippians 4:6-7), and having community to depend on while we are living Christian lives (Romans 12:4-5).

The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:12-13)

One of the best characteristic attributes and virtues that all of us need to have is love. This is because God is love (1 John 4:7-8) and love is able to cover a multitude of sins up (1 Peter 4:8). This is the reason why loving with one another is the law of the Spirit (Romans 13:8-10). When we think deeply about this, love really can cover over a multitude of sins because of Jesus Christ. Because of the love of God, Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross for our sins to pay our death penalty on Himself (Hebrews 2:14-15). Romans 5:6-8 declares, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Hence, we have to show the same kind of the love, the mercy and the grace of God to our enemies as Jesus did, if we want to be the children of God, the Most High (Luke 6:27-36).

If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. (1 Corinthians 13:1-7)