Will You Put On Love? (Colossians 3:14-17)

 VIDEO

Will You Put On Love? (Colossians 3:14-17) 

GIST: Choose to love, experience peace, be grateful, and feed deeply. 

    This morning would have been our first in our “Summer in Psalms”. In fact, I’ve been studying Psalm 38 in preparation for today (which is as far as we’ve made it in 3 years ☺). However, as I did, I kept coming back to a passage I’ve been looking at over the past two weeks while preparing for two weddings I’m conducting this summer.  The message here is so wonderful and so closely tied to how Paul wrapped up his “application of grace” section of Galatians, I couldn’t shake wanting to share it with you guys as a sort of bridge message before our Summer in Psalms...so that is what we’re going to do ☺️. 

In context, Paul has just given the Colossians a familiar admonition to throw off the old self, a life controlled by sin, and to put in the new self, a life controlled by the Spirit and producing His fruit. It’s then that He says this:

“14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 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. 17 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.”

Here’s our gist: Choose to love, experience peace, be grateful, and feed deeply. 

I. Choose To Love (14a)

“And above all these put on love”. What I love about this statement, no pun intended, is that it points to us being intentional about how we love. And this isn’t just some abstract, emotional expression of love. This isn’t a call to act “warm and fuzzy” or give more hugs. We’re talking about immulating His love. The deliberate, compassionate love of Jesus who, while we were still sinners, poured out His life for us. That incredible love should not only be an encouragement and blessing to our lives, it should define us as every day we choose to remember we’re loved by Him and look for ways to deliberately love those around us like Him. 

II. Experience Peace (14b-15b)

Paul continues by saying we put on the love of Christ… “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.”

 So we’re called to put on His love, and then experience lasting unity. Real togetherness! In a disconnected and broken world where everyone is in constant conflict, there is an opportunity for peace. If we are loving like Jesus, we won’t be engaging in meaningless fighting or bitterness. And if a community is changed by His love… Guys, that’s where hope comes from→ 

And that happens by allowing the peace of Jesus to be in charge of your heart. I won’t drag this out, but just take a moment to examine your heart. Really. What would you say controls you? Are you driven by His peace? Can you really say that? Put on His love, experience and be led by His peace, and → 

III. Be Grateful (15c)

The next portion of the verse literally says, “And be thankful.” It’s straightforward. But are you? Am I? How much time do you spend thanking Him and talking to others about all the good He’s doing? How much time do you spend just griping? Paul says do this and be thankful. I’ll add: do this and you’ll be thankful you did ☺. Can we make this a personal challenge, to be thankful rather than moan and complain?

IV. Feed Deeply (16-17)

Paul then wraps up this section by saying: “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.” 

At first, this call to admonish each other with wisdom and sing songs to each other might seem completely alien. I mean, my daughter Adelynn and I do the singing thing, but we’re weirdos. Or, maybe we’re the normal ones, I don’t know ☺. Nonetheless, the picture here is absolutely beautiful. We’re called to feed deeply on God’s Word and then share deeply with each other. 

So there are two sides here. We dig into His Word personally. We let it consume us. Then, we pour it out on others. We talk about it, and we live it. When I thought about the first part, Jedidiah came to mind. When he’s interested in something, you’ll know. He literally cannot help himself. He wants to walk you through every detail. I know when he’s really passionate about something, because it is spewing from him like a fountain! When’s the last time you brought up Jesus in a conversation?

But not just talking. Live it. Let His Word so dwell in your heart that it transforms how you live. Let His Word direct all your decisions. It is only then that we’re ready to live our whole lives like they’re really all about Him! 

My goal was to keep it short today, but these truths were just encouraging and convincingly wonderful, so I wanted to share them with you. Let’s just recap in our→ 

TAKEAWAYS 

1. Put on love.

2. Experience peace.

3. Be grateful.

4. Feed deeply.