Underwear of the Heart
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. Colossians 3:12-13
Today’s startin’ like any other day for me. Pretty soon I’ll decide if I’m gonna go for a run and if so, I’ll put on my favorite running shorts, grab a faded t-shirt, and lace on my Montrail-inserted Asics high-instep jogging shoes, inplant my ear-buds, turn on my iPod to Mike Farris’ new live CD, “Shout!”, and hit the trails of River Landing. Later, I’ll clean up, throw on jeans and a shirt, slide into a pair of Birks and leave for my first appointment for coffee at The Perch. What you’re about determines what you wear.
Paul understood this principle quite well. But whatever we’re going to do on any given day and in any given hour, Paul assumed we’re always about being “God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved.” That’s the most important determining orientation we are to have towards jogging or java or and anything we’re about today! And that’s why, every day, we are to “put on” compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance and forgiveness, the underwear of the heart! We “put on” these garments of grace, not as pretenders, but as those who precious to the Lord-those who will forgive and love today as Jesus loves us.