Colossians 3:12 (CEB)

Therefore, as God’s choice, holy and loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

Paul begins this verse with therefore—a word that always invites us to look back. In the previous section, Paul describes the kind of life that flows from focusing on “the parts of your life that belong to the earth”: anger, greed, slander, and all the ways we scramble to establish ourselves by the world’s measures. But he also paints another picture—the life that comes from being “renewed in knowledge by conforming to the image of the one who created it” (v.10).

That’s where it therefore leads us. Because you belong to God. Because you’ve been given a new nature. Because you are “God’s choice, holy and loved.” Therefore, dress like it. Consciously “put on” compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

I think back to a conversation with a therapist years ago. He asked me, “What do you want?” I answered, “I’m supposed to want a good job, 2.5 kids, a nice house…” He interrupted, “No, not what are you supposed to want. What do YOU want?” I couldn’t answer. My entire orientation was shaped by what the world expected of me—what others wanted from me—not by who I truly was.

I eventually discovered that my deepest fulfillment came not from chasing ego-driven desires or living up to external expectations, but from embracing whose I am. When my identity shifted— from striving to belong, to knowing I already belong—I could finally “put on” those qualities Paul describes.

Today, ask yourself: are you living by the expectations of the world, or by the reality that you are already “God’s choice, holy and loved”?

Because once you know whose you are, it changes everything about how you live.

Let’s pray.

Dear God, thank you for reminding us that we are your choice, holy and loved. Help us stop chasing the world’s expectations and instead rest in the truth of who we are in you. Teach us each day to “put on” compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience—not out of duty, but because your love is shaping us. Keep drawing us closer to your heart, so our lives reflect yours. Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Donn King.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

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