Skip to main content

Put on...

  

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. (Colossians 3:12)

As we go through our day, we need to remember that we’re at war. We’re to have our armor on and be ready to do battle. Our lives and the lives of those around us depend on that armor. But, as vitally important as the armor of God is, one doesn’t tend to wear armor directly on the body. There are usually layers of padding and clothing beneath it to absorb sweat, prevent chafing, and preserve modesty and dignity. Under the truth, righteousness, readiness, and salvation, and behind the faith, we’re to wear compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

I know, we keep returning to these things but that’s because they’re central to humanity and personhood, and therefore to Christianity. Even when we take off the armor, we’re to wear them. The first is compassion. This is the “feeling with” that Job’s friends spent 7 days doing. This is validating someone’s feelings (e.g., weeping with those who weep, rejoicing with those who rejoice.) But acknowledging someone’s feelings does not mean saying that they are correct about the cause of the feelings. Both lies and the truth may hurt, but that doesn’t make the lies truths or the truths, lies.

There are times when feelings must be addressed with the acknowledgement that they are a person’s feelings, not necessarily connected with the truth. We need to connect with people emotionally, and that may take some time. But that is not the end goal, it’s just one step along the way.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen To Him

              The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him . (Deuteronomy 18:15)           Today, we switch from Jesus’ claims of “I am” to prophecies made about Him. My Bible platform is starting in Deuteronomy. I’d start in Genesis, where we would learn that the one who would save us would be a descendant of Eve (Genesis 3:15), of Noah (by default), Abram and Sara(Genesis 12:1-3). Isaac (Genesis 17:19), Jacob (Genesis 25:23), Judah (Genesis 29:8), and David (II Samuel 7:12-16). There were also references to a new covenant (Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:22-32). In addition, there were prophecies about when and where the prophet/Messiah would be born and what would happen to him.           Of course, naysayers will claim that Jesus’ life was retrofitted or reverse enginee...
Post a Comment
Read more