WHAT’S IN YOUR WARDROBE? – Part 5 of 5

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

PATIENCE

“Wait patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the LORD.”  (Psalm 27:14 NLT)

In our fast-paced world, waiting feels like an interruption. We rush to plan the next season, secure the next outcome, and outrun uncertainty, often operating under the anxious assumption that if we aren’t pushing forward, we are falling behind. Yet, spiritual growth rarely happens in the rush. It happens in the stillness -- when we stop trying to outpace God's calendar and learn to anchor our souls in the present.

To get ahead of God’s timing is to rely on our own strength rather than His wisdom. It is driven by the fear that if we don't force a door open, it will remain closed forever. But the posture of faith invites us to exhale, lay down our timelines, and trust the One who holds eternity.

Henri J.M. Nouwen beautifully captured the transformative power of patient waiting when he wrote: "A waiting person is a patient person. The word patience means the willingness to stay where we are and live out the situation to the full in the belief that something hidden there will manifest itself to us... Patient people dare to stay where they are. Patient living means to live actively in the present and wait there... nurturing the moment."

Nouwen reminds us that patience is not passive resignation; it is an active, courageous choice. To wait well is to stay fully present in whatever season we find ourselves -- even an uncomfortable or quiet one -- believing that God is working beneath the surface. When we rush ahead, we risk missing the exact lessons, character-building, and quiet blessings He has planted right where we are. 

-- SOUND BITES Ministry™

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WHAT’S IN YOUR WARDROBE? – Part 3 of 5

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

HUMILITY

“At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’” (Matthew 18:1 ESV)

Who is the greatest? It evokes the very essence of ego. I heard an apt acronym the other day for E.G.O. -- Edging God Out. "Greatest" language activates the cancerous plague of all human cultures (especially internet culture): comparison. It creates a universe of competition where there can be only one winner and an infinity of losers.

Jesus blows up the question and destroys the category.

“And calling to Him a child, He put him in the midst of them and said, ‘Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’"  (Matthew 18:2–5 ESV)

In lifting up the child as the example, Jesus is not driving at child-like whimsy with rainbows and unicorns. He's exalting extreme humility. He's crushing status barriers, destroying prestige markers, and otherwise eviscerating any shred of human qualification anyone might bring to the table. And let's be clear, He's not handing out participation trophies to mediocre people. He's passing out divine commendations, and they are in endless supply. With a mere thirty-four words He reinterprets the way to greatness from measuring up to measuring down.

Humility is not self-abnegation; it is God-exaltation. Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less. Humility is not lowering yourself; it is lifting up others.

True humility is becoming so enraptured with Jesus you've taken on His likeness. His mindset has become your mentality.

-- Excerpted from “Wake-Up Call” with J. D. Walt 

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WHAT’S IN YOUR WARDROBE? – Part 1 of 5

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

INTRODUCTION: Colossians 3:12 marks a turning point in Paul's letter where he moves from doctrine to daily living. After reminding believers that they have been raised with Christ and given a new identity in Him, Paul calls them to live in a manner that reflects their new nature. Because they are God's chosen, holy, and beloved people, they are to clothe themselves with Christlike qualities that demonstrate His character to the world.

COMPASSION

Frederick Buechner wrote, "Compassion is the sometimes fatal capacity for feeling what it is like to live inside somebody else's skin. It is the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy for you, too."

What is compassion? It is Jesus coming to earth to be like us, to identify with our human experience. One of His greatest desires is that we show the same compassion to others, that we show mercy and ease suffering…

Compassion doesn't come naturally to us. We are by nature self-centered. It takes time and a work of God's grace to develop compassion…

We learn compassion either by going through certain circumstances or by trying to imagine what other people are going through…

When we go through the death of a friend or family member, an illness, or a trying time, we often discover that the people who come alongside us and help the most are people who either have experienced the same difficulties or try to understand what we are going through without feeling a need to fix or make judgments.

Compassion reaches into hearts and lives, past barriers, past judgments, and brings the touch of God. 

-- William and Nancie Carmichael in “Lord Bless My Child” 

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FROM RAGS TO RICHES

"Put off, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry… You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator… Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." (Excerpts from Colossians 3:5-12)

One of the most important metaphors the Bible uses for sin is that of clothing. It speaks of “putting off” anger, slander, rage, greed, sexual impurity, and so on. And then it speaks of “putting on” those characteristics that flow from life in the Spirit. One of the ways you can think about sin is to use the acronym R.A.G.S. Those characteristics we are to “put off” by and large fit into one of these four categories: R.A.G.S

          Resentment: mismanaged anger and bitterness
          Anxiety: an inability or refusal to trust God; sins of passivity and timidity
          Greed: mismanaged desire of all kinds
          Superiority: self-righteousness and contempt for others

-- John Ortberg in “The Me I Want to Be”

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