"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, 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." Colossians 3:12-14 (ESV)
It was love that started the whole thing. God himself created everything out of love. He needed nothing for his own satisfaction. However, his very nature is to overflow with goodness towards others. When sin entered the created order through Adam and Eve, love was distorted. Instead of overflowing towards others, it turned inward towards self. Since then the concept has been embraced, but the reality has been lacking. We often speak of love and even see glimpses of it in the sacrificial acts of mothers for their children, soldiers for their country, etc. But, the kind of love that depicts the nature of God is foreign to humankind.
When we do the best we can, we only slightly mimic the love of God. We can't get away from relating everything to our own best interests. We seem to be able to forbear for awhile, but eventually we bend to internal desires that demand we have our own way.
If we were in our right minds we could simply look at creation and see the love of God manifested. It overflows with self-giving majesty. He didn't have to make it like this. Without his loving touch, even creation would be totally void and cruel. Until we are personally touched by his love, our minds cannot even perceive this unspeakable beauty. We see creation as random and history as compartmentalized.
So, God shows out by expressing his love through the gift of his Son. After mankind had done its worst, God sent his Son to take the penalty of our sins. He declared us to be as right with God as the eternal Son himself was. There is no mistaking that kind of love. It goes beyond human capability. Even if we should choose to die protecting another, we don't take the penalty of their sins. Only God could do that. And he acted before we asked or even knew we needed it.
The Apostle Paul is saying that God has granted us to be embraced by this supernatural love. We can now own it. It is our new clothing. It is our new perspective. It is our new power. It alone can bring all the differences in mankind together. Love binds everything together. The unity sought by all peace-loving people will only be produced by this kind of love. Councils and treaties cannot produce it. Human toleration is a poor substitute.
That means that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only possible hope for true unity. It is only in Christ that anyone can find real love. Then, they can choose to love in a way that highlights the beauty of differences, rather than using them as excuses to divide. This love is the crown of our new wardrobe. Without it all the new clothes are a sham. With it we are dressed to live a new life in a new creation.
SYNERGY - Better Together: October 01, 2010 click for more > Five Pillars of New Testament Discipleship: : October 15, 2010 click for more > Family Reunion Retreat: December 03, 2010 click for more >
