Put on

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. Colossians 3:12-14

As we put off the old man we are told to put on the new man and then we are told how to do that. Just like with the put off there is a putting on.

The things we are told to put on here all relate to how we treat others.

Put on tender mercies
Put on kindness
Put in humility
Put on meekness
Put of long-suffering
Put up with each other
Put on forgiveness
But above all – put on love.


These are a challenge. They all go agains our natural inclination. All of these require that we we take the back seat and instead of seeking our own gratification and seek to please others.

And they can all be wrapped up in the last on the list – put on love. It is the bond of perfection. It is the super glue that holds it all together. Love allows us to forgive. Love allows us to put up with each other. Love allows us to be patient. Loves makes us meek and humble and kind and merciful. Love forgets about me and puts others first.

Love means I am so busy loving that I don’t have time to wallow in my misery. It is times like this that our love is most needed. As bad as things are they are made for God’s people.

They give us a chance to prove our love.