The Order Matters

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 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. (Colossians 3:12-13)

Paul reminds us who we are before he tells us what to do – we are chosen, holy, and beloved by God. This identity isn’t earned—it’s given. And it’s the foundation for everything else. Only when we truly know and believe that we are chosen by the Father, set apart as holy for His purposes, and dearly loved by Him, will we have the desire and the strength to put on the qualities of compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.

If we skip straight to “bearing with” and “forgiving” without first clothing ourselves in these qualities and virtues, we will quickly find ourselves frustrated and empty. It’s like trying to push a cart forward rather than letting the horse pull it from the base of its strength—it’s exhausting and ineffective. Those virtues are the strong legs that pull the weight of relationships forward and actually allow us to bear with and forgive each other.

Once we have put those virtues on, bearing with one another becomes spiritually natural. Forgiving becomes less about our willpower and more about God’s Spirit flowing through us. The same God who chose you and calls you holy is the One enabling you to love others as He loves you. Let Him clothe you, and you will find yourself doing what once felt impossible—because it will be Christ in you.