As a Christian, put on love.

“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.” Colossians 3:12-14

Being a Christian is a beautiful thing, because salvation is the gift of God. We did not have to work or struggle to be saved, we did not have to figure salvation out, God saved us, Jesus sought us out, found us and brought us back to the fold. “For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.” Matthew 18:11-13 Therefore, becoming a Christian is the gift of God and without effort on our part. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” Romans 8:14 However, being a Christian is the hard part, it requires work on our part and a very hard work. The reason being a Christian is hard is because we must work against our old nature (now that we have two natures) and serve our “new nature” which is godly. Here we see one of those times our work is required, “putting on love” as God called it. Just as God told us in Ephesians 6:10 – 11 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might…Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Ephesians 6:11 The only way to defeat Satan and his evil demons is by having on all the armor that God has provided for us. Love is the same because just as salvation is a gift of God so is love, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love…” Galatians 5:23. As with all the fruits Paul wrote about we ought to use them in our Christian life in striving to live godly lives. This love is not natural love it is the love of God that the Holy Spirit gave to us at salvation. “And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” Romans 5:5 However, “putting it on” is a labor on our part, just as making sure we have the “whole armor of God on” is. Do you remember when God said you can tell a tree by its fruit? “For every tree is known by his own fruit…” Luke 6:44 Putting on the love of God is wearing it daily, not just a couple of days a week but every day of the week. While it is a fight with our old nature, it is a fight worth fighting. We all should want to be recognized as fruitful trees of God in Christ Jesus, walking examples of “Christ likeness”. Now please do not miss this last point in verse 14 in our text, “charity, which is the bond of perfectness.” Love is the bond of perfectness or completeness. We cannot be complete Christians, fruitful trees, nor even Christians without the love of God in our hearts. However, the bond (that is - joint tie or uniting principle) that makes us complete Christians is “love” because love is the glue that holds us together with the Lord and with each other as Christians. God said, “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” Jude 1:21 You keep yourself in God’s love as though it is a work on your part. Paul recognized love as such an important tool in his spiritual life that he said “and have not charity, I am nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:2 and Paul assured us in verse 8 “Charity never faileth…” and now listen very closely to Paul’s ending this thought in verse 13 “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” Love is greater than your faith and hope, one writer said, “love is the outward manifestation of what we feel within.” love is the bond that holds together all your godliness because it shows what is inside of your heart. Beloved, as Christians we need to put on love every morning just as we put on our cloths. We ought to be loving toward every human being whether saved or lost that we encounter during our day, but more so with our fellow Christians. We ought to look for common ground and use that common ground as loving Christians and never look for ways to be angry with each other. Let God’s gift of love be the bond of the faith and hope that is in your heart, and you will be a very fruitful tree.