Col 3:12-14 (The Message) "So, chosen by God for this life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second-place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it."
LOVE:
Holy and Beloved per the King James Version. In the Greek – hagios and agapao. Hagios refers to being blameless or sacred – most holy. Agapao refers to love as a friend or lover. We are commanded to live a life of love - a life that is holy and blameless and as a witness to those who come into our life. Beloved “agapao” love appears in 1 Thessalonians 1:4 and 2 Thessalonians 2:13 referencing “brethren beloved”. I like the word picture this brings to my mind…beloved and holy – accepted as sister and held blameless like Christ. Too often I forget that my shortcomings have been covered by grace. I don’t deserve that and because the world teaches that nothing comes to a person free of strings I know that I run myself ragged trying to prove that I am worth receiving grace. I’m not. I try to do and say the right things so that I will be thought well of and loved. I already am. Before I open my mouth, before I start to move or give of my time, God loves me and considers me his daughter and sister to Christ. I didn’t earn that love. It was just freely given because I had the audacity to open my heart. It’s when the world shouts messages at me so loudly that I forget whose I am. I forget that I was chosen to the degree that He “knit me in my mother’s womb.” God sees every tear I cry, watches me make mistakes then seeks me out still and guides me back to the path He set out for me. Chosen and loved. Holy and Beloved.
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