“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.” Colossians 3:12-14 (NIV)
My sister-in-law and I found ourselves together at a family event, unsure of how to make conversation after ending up on opposite sides of a family conflict. As we stared at each other across our mother-in-law’s living room, I thought of the misunderstandings and tension between us. But I knew that it wouldn’t be right to let the tension continue. So, I prayed for a way to start talking to her again. An idea popped into my mind: give her a sincere compliment.
“I like your blouse,” I said hesitantly, breaking the silence. “Purple is my favorite color.”
A smile flashed across her face. “And I like yours,” she told me. “It looks elegant on you.”
After that day, we found other points to appreciate about each other, which led to us talking more. Then we were able to build a better relationship.
In Colossians 3:12-14, the Bible tells us to “clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” These are essential pieces of clothing for every believer, much more important than an attractive blouse:
-Compassion is caring deeply about the pain and struggles of other people.
-Kindness is choosing loving words and actions to help people.
-Humility is being willing to listen to and learn from others rather than assuming that we’re always right.
-Gentleness is strength under control that helps us be calm and thoughtful.
-Patience is waiting with love and without complaining.
These qualities are like the shirt, pants, socks, shoes, and jacket of our spiritual outfit. But there’s one more clothing item we need to wear: love. Verse 14 says: “And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”
Love is like the belt that holds everything together, or the coat that wraps over the whole outfit. Without love, the rest don’t stay in place. We can try to be kind, patient, and gentle, but without love, we can’t really do so. Love is what motivates our compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
Our example is God’s love for us. Verse 13 says: “Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” We don’t just forgive when we feel like it or when someone apologizes to us. We forgive because God forgave us first. God showed us grace and mercy when we didn’t deserve it. So, we need to offer grace and mercy to others.
It can be challenging to “wear love” in this fallen and broken world. Some days we feel tired or frustrated. Some people are hard to be around. We can experience many disappointments and a lot of stress. But just like we choose our physical clothes, we can choose to put on these spiritual clothes every day.
Whenever we get physically dressed in the morning before we leave home, we can ask the Holy Spirit to help us get spiritually dressed. Then, as we pay attention to the Holy Spirit’s leading through our day, we can find the power we need to wear love in every situation. We can be compassionate when we see someone in need, kind to our coworkers, humble when we’re talking with our friends, gentle with our spouse, patient with our children, and more.
What we “wear” makes a statement to other people about what we value. When we wear love, we choose to put love into action. God’s love flows through our lives and into other people’s lives.
So, tomorrow morning, when you’re picking out clothes for your body, dress your soul, too. Ask yourself: “Am I wearing love today?” Let love be the first thing you put on, and the last thing you take off, every day!
Let’s pray:
Dear God, thank you for loving me completely and unconditionally. Today, I choose to wear compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience – and to wear them all with love that motivates me to practice all those qualities you value. Please help me to forgive people, just as you have forgiven me. Most of all, help me to put on love by letting your love flow through my life and show up in everything I say and do. Empower me through our Holy Spirit to be loving even in challenging situations. I want my life to show the world who you are. Thank you, God. I love you. Amen.
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/SeventyFour
Related Resource: Let Go, Trust, and Stay Rooted When Life Feels Unsteady
When life feels unsteady, many of us respond by holding tighter, trying harder, and carrying more than we were meant to bear. But Jesus offers a different way. In this episode of Unhurried Living, Gem Fadling is joined by Yvette Henry, writer, speaker, and author of Release, Rest, Remain, for a thoughtful conversation about learning to let go, trust God, and stay rooted in his presence when life feels overwhelming.
Drawing from Jesus’ words in John 15, this conversation explores what it means to release the pressure to hold everything together, rest in God’s love, and remain spiritually grounded in the middle of real life. Together, they reflect on spiritual exhaustion, the invitation to abide rather than strive, and how spiritual fruit grows naturally when we stay connected to God.
This episode is for anyone longing for peace, stability, and a deeper sense of trust when life feels uncertain. If this episode helps you recenter your work and life on God, be sure to follow Unhurried Living on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode!
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