"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 (Colossians 3:12-14)... Let your conversation be ALWAYS full of grace, seasoned with salt..." (4:6)
Those are some heavy words to live up to...words that come to mind often lately, and words that I would be equally challenged to read each day. As a daughter of God's, not only am I called to practice these virtues, I am told to clothe myself with them. I think about my interactions each day...both big and small...and how quickly I clothe myself with pride, frustration, or even resentment. Just today, I felt my patience dwindle as I attempted to work through a dilemna about a paycheck....a paycheck. My conversation with the person on the other end of the phone was moving from graceful to graceless....not exactly salty:) When all was said and done, everything was ironed out, and my frustration did nothing to accomplish the task at hand.
I like how The Message interprets Col. 4:6-- "The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out." It's saying bring out the best in others...not only in my conversations with people I care for and am cared by, but those who may not be able to reciprocate kindness and love. Bring out the best in that pesky telemarketer, or the gas station attendant, or the cashier at the grocery store. It's easy to clothe myself with compassion, gentleness, humility, and all those other things when I'm with a person who is clothed with the very same traits. Yet I begin to think I have the freedom to abandon those virtues when I am not shown them in return. "No way," Christ tells me...that's when you kick it into overdrive and draw from the unstoppable, unending love I have freely given you.
2 comments:
Hey em random since this isnt really a comment about your last post but i was wondering if you could email me that poem that you have hanging up in your room right hwen you walk into your room its on the left? do you know which one im talking about? thanks emmy love you! my email is empaul@indiana.edu! :)
hewro emery...
just wanted you to know i miss you. i was thinking about you a lot this past week.
hope things are good. we'll catch up soon.
beijos,
laura
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