Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:12-17

In my last few posts I wrote about participation in the mission of God and the word of God. There is one thing that ties these three posts together, the mission, word, and people all belong to God. With that in mind, God is not looking for us to bring our resources, but to be the resource. He desires that we lay aside our agendas and align ourselves to what he is doing, saying, and building. In love he has made us to be gifts to his people. 

In the above passage the Apostle Paul works out what it means to love one another, which is the hallmark of the people of God. The priority of this passage is otherness, seeking what’s best for one another to the glory God. 

I know this is hard to hear as an American, and even harder to embrace, but we know that in the counterintuitive way of the kingdom of God, receiving is in giving, honor is in serving, and living is in dying. 

So as we participate in the people of God, again we realize it’s not about us. And what we do need, God will provide as we give ourselves to one another and to him. The least and the greatest thing of all is that we belong to the people of God. We are his.

Grace and peace,

Brook