So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Colossians 3:12-14
Today's thoughts from today's verses:
A lot of attention is given to “love” in our world, especially romantic love. Our music, our literature, our movies, our TV shows, our conversations, and our aspirations are filled with the subject of love. Somehow, even with all the attention we give to love, we have trouble defining what it is. There is romantic love, sexual love, neighborly love, Christian love, godly (agape) love, etc. But still, what is love really? Perhaps if we tried really hard, we could find the thread the runs through all the various kinds of love to help us define it properly. Defining love properly once and for all is a tall order indeed.
Today’s Scripture does a great job of helping us understand love. It is not a definition, and it is multi-faceted. It describes the kind of relationships that should exist between brothers and sisters in Christ. Of course, we are talking about marriage and love today and we recognize that it includes many of the kinds of love we mentioned previously. However, if we borrow this passage and use it as a code for how to treat our marriage partners, we will find that it will do much to help with all the other kinds of love that are included in marriage.
Rather than expounding on the passage, let’s just adapt it a bit for married couples: “So, as those who have been joined together by God in Christian marriage, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with each another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against the other; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity in your lifetime of marriage together.” Meditate on this, employ it as fully as possible in your marriage, and you will begin to experience “love” as it was meant to be.
Today's prayer response from today's thoughts:
Lord, I know that you know what love is, even the complicated and multifaceted love of marriage. Help me love my marriage partner in the ways you want me to. Help me to follow the code of today’s Scripture. Change me and use me to bless the special person in my life with a depth of love like they have never known from me before. Amen!
