Thursday after Cantate Sunday
Posted on May 11, 2023 by under
Scripture: Colossians 3:12-17 (NKJV)
3:12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. 14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
Devotion
The life, death, and resurrection of Christ was carried out to effect our salvation, that is, to earn righteousness for us, to pay for our sins, and to bring us new and everlasting life. But it also serves as the standard according to which we should live. The life of faith is a mimetic life. Those who have come to faith in this crucified and risen Savior have the duty to mimic Him in the way we treat one another. Everything about the New Man which St. Paul describes is really a description of Christ, since “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation” (Col. 1:15).
See how He has dealt with us: kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forgiveness, and above all love! If, according to the working of the Spirit, we have put off the Old Man and donned the New Man, we should practice these Christian virtues in our daily lives. Christ has gained for us reconciliation to the Father. He has established peace between us and God. This peace, then, should rule in our hearts and be the governing principle of our lives in love. The Word of Christ is not something limited to Sunday preaching, but it should be evident in the day-to-day interactions of the Church.
Prayer: O God, Who makest the minds of the faithful to be of one will: Grant unto Thy people that they may love what Thou commandest, and desire what Thou dost promise; that, among the manifold changes of this world, our hearts may there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
