Colossians 3:12-14 “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.”
The word bowels means the innermost or deepest part, and it also means the seat of pity or kindness hence, tenderness and compassion.
What this means is that when we show love towards others, it needs to be the true, deep love that comes from deep down inside of you. Some people may seem or appear like they love others, but they are only like that on the outside. Anyone can just say the words I love you, but the true intentions and feelings of a person lies within them, and it is this area where we need to show our love for others from.
Notice the qualities that Paul included in the verses above: mercy, kindness, humbleness, meekness, long-suffering, forbearance, and forgiveness. All of these things can be included under one main virtue. The virtue of love will do all of these things.
Our God is a God of love, and as the elect of God we have to exemplify that love to others.
Ephesians 4:32 “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”
Do you have any children? If you do, then you hopefully know how to be filled with the qualities of our topic verse. Because to raise a child you need to be filled with a lot of patience and mercy. You need to be able and ready to forgive because children, especially when they are young, will need a Godly, loving parent to guide and help them grow. They need to be loved greatly, so that they too will grow up to do the same.
1 Peter 1:22 “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:”
If something is feigned, put simply it means that it is fake or false. So unfeigned love is love that is true and real, just as the love that Jesus has for us is the truest love that anyone could ever have. We know this because He died for us so that we could have the opportunity of everlasting life, something that we would never be able to attain without His love.
Back once again to forgiveness, when we forgive others it shows our love for them. A command of Christ, we all need to be forgiving with others if they do something wrong towards it and then come up to us, repentant and filled with sorry and regret for their actions. As Christ has forgiven us through His abundant love, we need to be able to do the same.
Like a deep water well, reach down deep inside of your heart for that true love, and give it to others. Love each other!
In Christ,
Andrew
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 