And above all these put on love.

Colossians 3:12-17, Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on 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 one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

One of my favorite scriptures says “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us” and tells us that we ought to do so for others. We can only do this by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, not by the power of the flesh. Even when there are those who have treated us unfairly, we can still forgive them as did Jesus from the cross: “forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Can we truly allow his divine love to cover everything we do?

I want to die to myself that Your love may abound in all that I do and say; thank You for forgiving our sins as we forgive others! Thank You for the peace that passes all understanding.

ESV Lectionary