Answering God's Call

Put Them On

Col 3:12-14

12 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

At times we tend to think that changes automatically happen the moment we believe in the Lord Jesus as personal Savior. But those of us who are ‘old’ in the Lord know that it really takes conscious and deliberate efforts on our part to actually change. We know that apart from God we cannot do anything good, yet we still are expected to take proactive steps for transformation to take place.

The Bible gives clear directives for us to follow so we can change. In Colossians 3, we find in v. 12 that one of these instructions is to “clothe” ourselves with “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” To “clothe” suggests that you need to add on to what you already have. Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience may be virtues you do not possess at the start but these are ‘wardrobes’ that need to be worn. These do not come naturally but they can be part of your lifestyle.

Verse 13 adds a second imperative, “bear with each other and forgive…” This instruction is parallel with verse 12. It is incongruent to show compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience if you do not know how to bear and forgive each other. Lastly, verse 14 commands us to put on love as that ‘glue’ that binds all the other virtues. 

Changes do not happen overnight. Also, the Holy Spirit does not automatically form godly virtues in us without our cooperation. We are to ‘clothe’ and to ‘put on’ these qualities so we can really change.