Does it seem to you like God is always stretching you to something outside your comfort zone? He is. He is not content to have you sitting on your hands watching the days go by. God is the Master of master gardeners. He knows that fruit that has fallen to the ground and not picked up soon will quickly begin to rot. He’s been watering you, fertilizing you, giving you plenty of chances to bask in the sun; He doesn’t want you to rot on the ground.

He provides everything you need to stand tall and gleam in the light. “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with feelings of compassion and with kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” (Colossians 3:12)  Do you know people who just seem to shine all of the time? 

Following the dress code makes God’s light shine brighter through you. Sometimes, let’s face it, it’s just hard to respond to everyone with kindness, gentleness, and patience, but our good Father tells us just how to get through that as well–and it isn’t by punching someone in the face. No, again it’s God’s way, totally opposite of the world’s. “Bear with one another; if anyone has a complaint against someone else, forgive him.” He doesn’t even want you to talk it out. Just forgive him! “Indeed, just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must forgive.” (Colossians 3:13)

Have you been forgiven of anything big? If you have chosen Christ you have been forgiven of everything. He is a generous Savior who will not leave a speck uncleaned. So in and through Him, we must also learn to be quick to forgive. Lewis B. Smedes hit a real truth when he said: “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.”  

“Above all these things, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together perfectly.” (Colossians 3:14) Keep growing. Keep reaching for the Son, let your roots go deep, let His light be magnified through you.