Carlton G. McPeak
Guest Columnist
God’s people belong to God. God’s people have died to an old way of living and been raised to a new way of living. The characteristics of God’s people are reflected in how they act toward other people, whether they belong to God or not (Colossians 3:12, 13).
Paul describes God’s people as “holy and beloved.” “Holy” because they are a group of people who have been set apart by God. “Beloved” because they are precious in God’s sight.
God’s people, also called Christians, are to have certain characteristics when it comes to how they treat fellow Christians. There is to be “a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another.” Summed up, it is love, which Paul says “is the perfect bond of unity.”
Christians have “a heart of compassion” for people. They have sympathetic feelings for someone suffering, either physically or from some situation or misfortune in life. More than just having an understanding of their circumstances, it goes beyond, because they have actually experienced the same suffering. After the loss of a parent, they can have compassion for someone who has lost their mother. This principle can apply in many different situations.
Christians will show kindness to someone by being friendly, generous and considerate. They are tender with them, or warm-hearted.
Humility is shown when we do not consider ourselves more important than others. Understanding our own value, we are not exploiting it to the point where we are presenting ourselves as important. While we may want to appear to be humble and are always “cutting” ourselves down, this can come across as “being proud that we are humble.”
Often, gentleness is displayed by calmness in a situation. We are kind or “soft” in our dealings with other people. One aspect of being gentle is when we can be patient with another person. While not tolerating their evil practices or ungodly behaviors, we are willing to work with them while they are taking steps to make corrections. We remain calm and hold back our anger while they learn a new way of living.
One final characteristic is “forgiving one another.” Basically, when we forgive someone, we no longer hold them accountable for the wrong they have done to us. We are not angry with them or resentful toward them. We “move on” in our relationship with them, as if it had not happened.
It takes a certain mindset, or heart, to have these characteristics. Some may come easily; some may take “years” to develop. However, we must possess and practice these characteristics if we are going to be God’s people and be living God’s way.
Carlton G. McPeak (carlton_mc@msn.com)
is an evangelist working in the Florida Gateway region.
Scriptural quotations from the NASB.