First Sunday of Christmas - Devotion

A brief prayer is offered that you can add to your daily prayers this week. The scripture is from our Sunday Service Bulletin for 27 December 2015. This is our final devotion for 2015 and I am trying to craft it in such a manner to try and help us all focus the Christmas message of love into our entry into a new year. You’ll see that I have provided you a possible New Year’s resolution at the end of the narrative.

Epistle Reading
Colossians 3:12-17

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 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. 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.
Devotion: “Put on your Christian Virtues—above all, put on Love”

The literary context of verses 12-17 will help us better understand what is going on here. It may helpful if you get your bible right now and read verses 1-11, then continue with this devotion. The very beginning of Chapter 3, has the Colossian congregation being admonished to seek heavenly ways because they have been raised in Christ. Then verses 5-11 are things that Christians need to shun, by the time we get to verse 12 [our text today] it is time for some positive reinforcement. The translation uses “Put on, then…” I think this means something stronger that “having” the qualities Paul is advising. He is asking them to “live the qualities” or “live the virtues.” So, even though our individual relationship with God is a driving force, Paul is using a plural form. He is admonishing the early Christian church, and us, to be a community of action and above all a community of love. Wouldn’t you say that this is a very nice way for us to approach a new year? If you are a person who makes New Year’s resolutions, you may want to consider adding this: “Recognize an opportunity and then show Christian love every chance I get”.

The prayer: “Lord help us be a community of love. Amen”
Blessings to you.