Character of God

Colossians 3:12-13
12 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 also must do. 
 What an incredible power packed word from the Lord. If we could only learn to apply it to our heart. Notice the list of spiritual characteristics tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness and long-suffering. These are the fruit of the Spirit as listed in Galatians 5. They are of the very character of God. In other words God wants us to treat each other like He treats us!
And we must put into practice His character to do so. How can we expect to be able to bear with one another in love unless we first have mercy as God has mercy on us. We don't deserve His mercy but it's not about deserving it's about His character. God is love and love exhibits mercy. How can we bear with one another in love unless we are kind. Kindness is ministry at it's finest! To be kind and act out in kindness is to be totally selfless wanting only to serve someone else. To minister in hopes of showing someone else who Jesus is. To be Kind is to bear with one another in love. Humility is not our favorite yet it is so necessary in order to bear with one another in love. The Bible tells us in Phillipians 2 that Jesus was equal with God and yet came in the form of a slave and humbled Himself. He gave Himself to suffer death on the cross. Wow what an example of humility! From King over all of creation to death on a cross for creation. Now that's LOVE! Meekness is next on the list of God's intended Character for us. Meekness is power under control. To know you have the indwelling of the Mighty Holy Spirit of God and in the same knowledge realizing that you are under His control and ready to be obedient as God uses you to show His love to others. This meekness is the characteristic that drives us to go to the rescue of hurting people even if it means we ourselves will be hurt. Meekness is heroic like the obedience of Jesus to go to that cross for us. He knew it would be the most dreadful of all experiences. He agonized over the burden that our sin would place on Him. He knew for the first time He would be separated from the Father God! In this meekness He prayed not My will but Yours be done. In His meekness He saved the world! The last characteristic on the list is long-suffering or what I like to refer to as patients. In 2 Peter 3:9 the Bible says" God is patient toward us not willing that any should perish but that all but that all should come to repentance." Patients is truly "bearing with one another in love." It means to love each other through our faults, quirks, emotions, bad habits, rudeness and selfishness. It means to love even when you are not being loved in return. As the hammer struck the nail that pierce the hands that created the universe, the Son Of God said, "Father forgive them." How can we say we love Jesus, we believe Jesus and we trust in Jesus and not bear with one another in love. How can we say Jesus Lives in us and not have His life pour out of us as we bear with one another in love. May God bless us today as He grows his character in us and may His character in us be all that the world sees.