Summer Fruit Devotion: Kindness Day 5

Put on Kindness

“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, 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. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:12-17

How do we prepare for the day? We put on clothes. We put on shoes. We put on deodorant. We don’t walk around naked or in our jammies (unless it’s maybe just a quick run to Wal-Mart, lol.) Firefighters put on special protective clothing, healthcare professionals wear scrubs, military and sports teams put on uniforms. What we put on as Christians comes from our identity in Christ. Paul lists all kinds of things we should “put on” since we are “God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved.” Kindness is right in there with the rest of the fruits and good character we should wear. We don’t have to strain to put these thing on. In Matthew 11:30 Jesus said, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” The better we know Jesus by letting the “word of Christ dwell” in us the more we will see how Jesus embodies all these things. When we believe the gospel we will see our identity as “God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,” then we can put on kindness and change the world in the name of Jesus.

Journal time. In the center of a piece of paper write the words “God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved.” Then write around that all the characteristics mentioned by Paul in this passage. It could be a plain simple list or you can get creative with it and use different colors and lettering styles. Then post it up somewhere you can see it and be reminded of your identity in Christ. I’d love to see what you come up with. If you feel like sharing you can email it to me at curatedfaith@gmail.com

Pray with me today. Heavenly Father, we are so grateful that we are chosen, set apart and beloved by you. Thank you that you don’t let us wallow in our sins, but you give us a new identity in Christ, with new things to wear that would have chafed in our former lives. Holy Spirit help us continue to grow in all these fruits so that Christ will shine all the brighter in our lives. God, we are amazed that you use us selfish, sinful humans to share your kindness with the world. Let us be good ambassadors for you name. In Jesus’ holy and beloved name we pray, Amen.