Colossians 3:12-17 (NASB) 12So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. 14Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. 15Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
Covenant life means we believe we need to belong to a community that consciously and consistently affirms that God is in charge, that God is sovereign. In a world of isolating individualism and do it yourself spirituality we are called to belong to a community. In a world that often sees the church as unnecessary to faith and sometimes even as a barrier to spiritual growth we need the organized community of faith. Trying to be a Christian alone is like trying to play baseball without a team. It is like trying to play in the band by yourself. It is like making a hole in one on the golf course by yourself. We need a community to be Christians. We need a covenant community.
A covenant is the way we establish a relationship. A covenant states the terms of the relationship and what the relationship requires of us. In the covenant God made with the people of Israel, God stated the terms of the desired relationship. God made promises to the people and then stated what was expected of them. To be in a covenant community means we are part of a people who have accepted the terms of the relationship given to us by God and that we are willing to be accountable to God and to one another in keeping the terms of the relationship. These terms make a significant difference in our life, and as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, we put on the compassion we have experienced in Jesus Christ instead of the anger and irritation we experience all around us. We put on kindness that we have experienced in Jesus instead of the callousness we experience all around us. We put on humility that we have experienced in Jesus instead of the pushiness that we experience all around us. We put on patience that we have experienced in Jesus instead of the impatient, “get out of my way” life we have experienced all around us. We put on the life of Christ instead of the life we experience all around us.
And that is why we need a community. We live in a world that is continually putting on irritation, pushiness, and impatience as a way of life. We need a called out community where God is in charge to put on us the life of Jesus Christ. Let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts to which we were called in one body.
From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope August 13, 2000
© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell
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