#1127. As chosen and dearly loved (22/8/24)

https://www.communitychurchputney.com/post/1127-as-chosen-and-dearly-loved-22-8-24

Welcome to this Come to Jesus Daily Devotional and our summer inspiration series. Today, we reflect on how our understanding and enjoyment of God’s love and grace, frees us to be loving and gracious to others.

To watch this devotional, follow the link below:

https://youtu.be/gVFAu2e8nWc

‘Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience…’ Colossians 3:12)

Colossians 3:12

i. Therefore as…

The Biblical pattern is that understanding leads to behaviour. We don’t act out of our feelings; rather, we act out of faith in the truth and feelings normally catch up. Our behaviour and relationships are to flow out of the sort of truths mentioned in this section.

ii. God’s chosen people

We are told that our attitude to our relationships flow out of the truth that we have been chosen by God. I’m sure that we can see that if we live in the joy of grace; if we know that we deserved God’s wrath but He’s saved us by grace, then this will revolutionise how we treat others! Every one of our brothers and sisters, from whatever background, were chosen because of God’s love. If we fail to understand this, we can easily become like the judgemental and surely older brother in The Parable of The Prodigal Son. Paul writes elsewhere:

‘For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.’ (Ephesians 1:4-6)

Ephesians 1:4–6

iii. Holy and dearly loved

Holy means to be chosen and set apart by God for His purposes. Holy and dearly loved tells every Christian that their sins have been washed away and are God’s chosen and special possession.

In response, it’s on the basis of our new identity that we are to ‘put on the new self’. The bride, on her wedding day, get’s dressed because she knows that she’s dearly loved and chosen, so we will only dress ourselves in the beauty of Christ if we know we are chosen and dearly loved. Yesterday, we saw how we are to ‘put to death’ certain things that pollute our relationships, today is positive as we are told to ‘clothe yourselves’. We’ll continue with more detail tomorrow, however, today, I simply want us to rest in the transformative truth that we are, ‘God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved.’ Our joy and relationships are transformed by putting our roots into this truth. Like the healthy apple tree that’s planted in rich and well watered soil, so let’s ensure that we remain saturated in the doctrines of grace.