A home of shalom (part 4)

Peace in the home is not easy, but it is beautiful.

Colossians 3:12-17 (NLT)

Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

We long for peace, we desire peace, we pray for peace...in our home, church, ministry, marriage and parenting.  So far we've seen that peace only comes after we recognize our identity in Jesus.  In Jesus we are chosen, holy, and dearly loved.  That new identity compels us to imitate Jesus in his compassion and humility.  Then we saw that the next step toward peace is to joyfully grant forgiveness when we are sinned against and humbly seek forgiveness when we sin against others.

Now, "above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony."

Agape love must be the outer garment which covers and contains all the other Christ-like qualities.  All the other qualities are not "Christian" if they do not find their source in love.  Imagine showing compassion that does not come from a heart of love.  What is it?  Imagine humility and gentleness that aren't compelled by love.  What are they?  Imagine patience that isn't tempered by love.  What is it?  Without love as the source, guide, and goal, these "Christian virtues" dissolve into pride, greed, and anger.  No matter how hard I try to show patience to my kids, if it's not guided by love it's not empowered by the Holy Spirit.  No matter how hard I try to show humility to my wife, if it's not fueled by love, it's not glorifying to God.

Love is a choice to joyfully and sacrificially give what is best for another person.  1 Corinthians 13 describes real love, Galatians 5 gives the fruit or evidence of real love, 1 John 4 says we love because God first loved us.  Love is from God the Father, empowered by the Holy Spirit, following the example of Jesus.

When we allow the beauty and power of God's love to sink into our hearts, we find ourselves filled with God's love.  Romans 5, "God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit."  Out of God's infinite love for us, we find the strength to love others.  And in that love we show compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  In that love we grant forgiveness.

"above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony."

Love is the bond, the cement, the outer garment, that unites us in perfect harmony.  Love is the ligaments that keeps the body connected in peace.  Love is the glue that holds us together in peace.  Love is the bond that keeps our family together in peace.

Let's choose to love by the power of the Holy Spirit, after the example of Jesus, for the glory of our Father.