Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; (13) bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another , even as Christ forgave you, so you must also do. (14) But above all these things put on love which is the bond of perfection. (15) And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which you were also called in one body; and be thankful. (16) Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (17) And whatever you do in word and deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
The letter to the Colossians was written by the apostle Paul. In our verses today Paul is NOT talking about how men may be made perfect in the sight of God but how men may live perfectly among themselves – with the caveat that perfect love is nowhere to be found in this world. The remedy is to live in the peace of God which will restrain our natural instincts. Christians should live to see everything in the light of eternity. Paul reminds the Colossians that they are chosen of God and are to live holy (set apart) lives; to live in this world but not of it. The elect of God are Christians who have been chosen by God. No one comes to the Lord by his/her own choice but is called by God. Underlying our response is God’s plan and God’s initiative.
When Christians need to make choices the peace of God in our hearts should be the deciding factor; where there is no alternative there is no problem. We are to live in Christian liberty according to the precepts in this passage. Christians are working out day to day new patterns and new ways of reacting. The things we learn best are the things we put into operation. In short, we are to behave as we believe and in Christ, we are beloved of God.
When Warren Buffett was 71 he stated that his scorecard was not his enormous wealth and stature in the world but “Basically when you get to my age , you’ll really measure success by how many of the people you want to love you actually love you.” We need to know the meaning of Paul’s words: that without love we just have legalism.