Colossians 3:12-14 NIV
Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
If you have been receiving the ministry’s weekly reflection, you will notice a shift for the months of June and July. As guided by God’s Holy Spirit, we will be focusing on what it means to be clothed with Jesus by putting into practice the attributes listed in Colossians 3:12 as we are striving or seeking to be like Jesus in our Christian/Discipleship journey. My prayer the past few years has been about asking God to clothe me with Jesus so that I can love like he did as his daughter. You notice I did not say trying! According to Webster dictionary, trying is defined as "to make an attempt at" or "to put to test or trial." The word striving in contrast is defined as "to devote serious effort or energy." Although we know as long as we are on this earth, we will not reach our full perfection (2 Corinthians 5:1-5), nonetheless Jesus calls us to strive to live a life that mirrors the perfection of our heavenly Father. "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Mathew 5:48). In 1Peter 1:16, the apostle is reminding us that it is a command to pursue/strive for holiness like God our Father. "Be holy as I am." In our Christian journey, trying is not an option but striving to win the eternal crown is an expectation to become victorious at the end of this earth. Revelation 21:7-8, "Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children."
This series of reflections was prompted as I spent the month of April reflecting on what it meant to be clothed with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. I am beyond humbled to see how hard it is to live these attributes as I face the attacks of the enemy daily in this spiritual battle. I found myself like Apostle Paul expressed, what a wretched woman I am and only Jesus Christ can deliver me from Satan's plan to destroy my soul (Romans 7:24-25). I know if you are striving to clothe yourself with Jesus Christ daily, you know what the spiritual battle entails. If you don't know what the spiritual battle between our flesh and the Spirit of God feels like (Galatians 5: 16-21) decide today that you will strive to consciously clothe yourself with Christ.
