New Clothes

At church yesterday, the pastor referenced the following passage from Colossians:

As God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive. Above all, clothe yourself with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body.

This happens to be one of my favorite passages as it speaks to how we can be the face of Christ to others. It also happens to be one of those reminders that I need to do better. I know that I don't always wear these clothes when dealing with others. Patience and forgiveness are my two biggest challenges. Frankly, when God was handing out patience, I got tired of waiting and went to another line. But I'm learning. I'm also getting better about forgiveness. It certainly is a journey.

One of the things the pastor said yesterday, though, is that these virtues are best practiced within community, not in isolation. I do agree with that statement. We work to bring the Kingdom of God to earth when we act these ways with others. However, I also think that we need to practice these with ourselves as well. Personally, some of the most unkind, uncompassionate things I do are against myself. I would never let anyone talk to me the way I talk to myself. And forgive myself, forget it. That is one that I have not mastered at all. I'm struggling to forgive myself for things I did as a child.

Not only do I fail to dress in compassion, kindness, etc for myself, this lack of self-love can get in the way of my relationship with God. I know full well that although God doesn't love my sins, but God always loves me. If God can forgive me and love me, than I should forgive myself as well. God isn't punishing me, why should I punish myself? Acceptance for my past behaviors, words, and thoughts are hard, however, I am called to forgive myself as much as I am called to forgive others. This week, my prayer will be that I extend myself the love that I try to extend to others. It's a journey . . .and it's always fun to try on new clothes!