Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith, live like men, be strong! Let everything that you do be done in love.

1 Corinthians 16: 13-14

In Paul’s mini-sermon found in the two verses above, his final word is again an encouragement to love. In his letter to the Colossians, Paul fleshes out his idea of love with some important details –

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, 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.

Colossians 3: 12-14

The first set of characteristics we “put on” is reflected in our ability to “bear with one another.” This morning I had a brief interaction with another healthcare worker that was painful and tiring. Sometimes we love by just putting up with other people, right?

We love others when we are in the habit of “forgiving one another.” How easy is it for you to forgive another?

Finally, love is central in that it binds all in “perfect harmony.”

What kind of difference can we make today if we “let everything that we do (today) be done in love?”