Scripture

Colossians 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 one another if any of you has a
grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which
binds them all together in perfect unity.

Meditation:

Compassion - Deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to relieve it.

Kindness - Charitable interest in others: grace, favor, good turn, goodwill, to be kind, to bring joy.

Humility - The lack of vanity or self-importance: meek, modest, lowliness

Gentleness - The quality or state of being gentle, well-born, mild, benevolent, docile, etc.; gentility; softness of
manners, disposition, etc.; mildness.

Patience - The capacity of enduring hardship or inconvenience without complaint: forbearance, long-suffering,
resignation, tolerance. See accept/reject.

Let me start by saying I am not trying to insult anyone's intelligence by defining the above words, I understand
we all know the meanings of these words. I defined them for the pure purpose of brain registry. If you're
anything like me, you will read something and fully know all of the words you are reading, but not fully
understand, register, or give a second thought to what the author is trying to convey with those words. Think of
the pledge of allegiance or even the Our Father, how many of use really comprehend what we are saying, if
you do that's great, but as for me I don't. We know the generics of our words, but do we fully comprehend what
we are saying or reading. I emphasize these words that Paul writes, because to simply read them often times
leads to just that….reading them. If we fully understand and comprehend what these words mean, what they
define, and what Paul is sharing with us, then we can and will take what we read/understand and apply that to
our lives. So how do we do that, well first step is acceptance, we allow the Holy Spirit to work within us, and
then we do exactly what Paul tells us to do. We clothe ourselves with these virtues. So in the morning when
you put on your pants make sure that compassion is in one pocket and kindness in the other and as slip into
your shirt on, be sure humility is on one sleeve and gentleness on the other, and when you put on your shoes
be sure the laces are made of patience. If we wake up every morning and do these things and prepare
ourselves spiritually for each and every day, then when we are finished getting dressed, we will be wrapped in
a garment of LOVE, a forgiving, compassionate, kind, humble, gentle, and patient love. The same love that
Christ has for us, the same love that was slain on the cross to bring us salvation, grace, forgiveness, and
eternity. I pray that every morning we wake up we prepare ourselves for the battles of the day. That we wrap
ourselves in this garment of love, so all that come to know us, will come to know Christ through our witness and
our genuine love for them and one another.