“Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Colossians 3:12).

Have you noticed toddlers who take off their clothes the very first moment they can? These toddlers love walking around in their undies or diapers. They hate clothes.

What we clothes wearers have forgotten is how restrictive and uncomfortable clothes are. You see, after years of wearing clothes, we’ve gotten used to how clothes make us feel. In fact, after years of donning all our clothes, we feel naked without them!

Compassion. Kindness. Humility. Gentleness. Patience.

What a fantastic list! These are virtues every disciple of Jesus aspires to. These are all God-honoring, people-honoring virtues.

The million dollar question is how can we make these virtues our virtues? How can we live in such a way, these words describe our character and our lives?

The key phrase is “clothe yourselves.” The Greek verb is, enduo. It literally means to put on or clothe yourself. And, of course, it is an imperative. What is interesting is that this verb is written in the middle voice. What that means is that the subject acts both as the actor and the receiver/experiencer of the action. For instance, “Bob hurt himself playing basketball.” The “hurt” is in the middle voice.

What does all that mean? Great question.

First, compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, etc. are not things that happen automatically. They are not a part of us. These are virtues and qualities that need to be put on.

Second, the validity of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, etc. have nothing to do with how we feel. We might be feeling quite angry, frustrated, anxious, etc. And that is precisely the times we are to put on, and clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, etc. We need to put these things on precisely because we are feeling the absence of them.

Third, when we first try putting these virtues on, they feel restrictive and uncomfortable. It is much more natural to let our anger, outbursts, jealousies, frustrations to flow. It takes will and intentionality to put on these virtues.

Finally, when we choose to put on these virtues, we become the recipient/the experiencers of these virtues! The more we practice the art of putting on these virtues, the more natural they become. One day they become a part of us. So much so, that when they are absent, we feel naked.

Compassion. Kindness. Humility. Gentleness. Patience.

Go ahead! Put it on. Clothe yourselves.

“He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:10-12).

These are some of the most important verses in all of scripture. Few other verses so clearly teach us about God’s grace, mercy, forgiveness, and love.

Mercy – “He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.”

• That’s mercy. That’s all God
• We are absolutely deserving of judgment and damnation for we are all guilty
• Yet, that’s not how God deals with sinners. He offers sinners mercy. In fact, he offers sinners himself as the one to bear the brunt of judgment and wrath
• It is mercy because we do not receive what we deserve the gift of God’s Son

Love and Grace – “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him”

• That’s God’s love. That’s all God
• God’s love is amazing, awesome, is literally out of this world!
• No matter where you stand on planet earth, how high are the heavens above you? The heavens extend out for infinity. As far as the scientists can fathom, there is no end to the universe
• God’s love for you in never ending and immeasurable
• God loves you so much, that God could not imagine an eternity without you in it. So God sent his Son to die on the cross for your sins, so that in Christ you can stand in God’s kingdom as God’s child
• While this love is given out freely, it is made a reality only for those who fear him. The word for fear has little to do with feelings of terror, and has much more to do with honoring, glorifying, and loving
• It is God’s love. It’s all God. We receive what we don’t deserve. It’s all grace

Forgiveness – “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”

• This is forgiveness. This, too, is all God
• When we confess our sins and repent, God forgives us. At that very moment God sends our sins away from his presence and from us, and never stops moving away from us
• As far as the East is from the West, so far has God removed our sins from us
• When we confess and repent, God forgives. And when God forgives, he no longer sees the sin that separates us from his love and presence
• This is forgiveness. This, too, is all God

What an amazing God! What an amazing love!

“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” (Psalm 91:1).

To keep a car running properly for the long run, it needs more than fuel. It needs regular maintenance. It needs minimally regular oil changes and tune ups. It needs these regular service because the running of the car makes things get out of calibration.

Our daily reading of God’s word and prayer is like fuel for cars. This is what keeps us going.

But we need a regular check in for recalibration and for remembering. The race of life has a way of getting priorities, goals, and hopes out of whack. The race of life has a way of making us forget about purpose and meaning.

Rest. Respite.

Sounds good, right?

The key to resting in the shadow of the Almighty? Dwelling in the shelter of the Most High. You gotta get yourself to the house of God. This is the place of worship, the place of recalibration, the place of remembering.

God calls us to worship, not because he needs to be worshiped, but because we need to worship. It’s in the context of weekly worship that God both sets us right and helps us to remember who we are because of who he is. We need this recalibration and remembering every week because the race of life makes us forget.

This is why worship for the Christ-follower is a non-negotiable. We worship because we need to worship. We need a regular tune up and oil change. We need to remember.

The Lord’s people spend the Lord’s day the Lord’s way.