Wednesday, December 11, 2024  //  Day 11

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. —Colossians 3:12–15

With Christmas almost here, many of us are likely busy with lots of competing priorities. I love the beginning of this chapter in Colossians as an opener for today’s devotion: “Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” What a wonderful way to capture our attention and slow us down before any further instruction.

Paul continues by telling us that we need to actively live as God’s chosen people. He reminds us of these important foundational things – that we are holy, that we are loved, that we have been renewed, and that we are all one in Christ. Paul then tells us how to dress each day – in compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. He reminds us to bear with one another and to forgive as He forgave us. On top of all of these virtues, we are to put on a cloak of love to bind them together. 

If we don’t take time to do these things, how can others see God’s love in us? How can we possibly be at peace in this tumultuous world?

Paul wraps things up by encouraging us to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts, reminding us that we are members of one body, called to peace. “And be thankful,” he concludes. The words of this entire chapter are a wonderful reminder to us that we are God’s chosen people, and that He is to be our true love and focus in all things.

Stephanie Sudano