"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." (Colossians 3:12-13 NLT)

What did you clothe yourself with today? What characterized the way you acted around others? In short, if someone was given the chance how would they describe the way you acted today?

Someday's I get up and I clothe myself with pride, the day is all about looking good. Some mornings I clothe myself with self-pity, the day is all about what I'm lacking. There are even days where I clothe myself with insincerity, the day is about me looking better than I really am. Throughout the day I miss opportunities to live thankful.

Thankfulness is the foundation for loving others in this passage above. We love others because of what Christ has done to love us. Out of a correct perspective we chose to clothe ourselves with mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience because that is what Christ did for us. Christ loved us first, and he set the bar for the way we should love others.

What will it look like to wake up tomorrow and clothe yourself with these qualities? How can you display kindness as Christ would tomorrow? How can you live out humility even as Christ humbled himself? How can you be merciful to ohers like Christ did was to you?

It's all possible through the power of the Holy Spirit. You may have thought being kind, gentle, and merciful were suggestions, but they're not. God has commanded us to live to be the holy people he loves. Apart from Christ we'll never be holy, and apart from clothing ourselves with these things, the world will never see Christ through our lives. Let the way you live as holy people of God reveal the message of Christ!

- Josh