Verse from Colossians

所以，你们既然是神所拣选的，是圣洁、蒙爱的人，就要存怜悯的心肠、恩慈、谦卑、温柔和忍耐。(歌罗西书 3:12)

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. (Colossians 3:12)

At the end of a conference in Nairobi, Kenya, a group traveled from the conference center to a guesthouse to prepare to fly back home the next morning. When this group arrived, one person in the group reported that she had forgotten her luggage back at the conference center. After she left to retrieve it, the group leader (always meticulous on detail) criticized her sharply to the group in her absence.

The next morning when they arrived at the airport, the leader discovered to his dismay that he too had left his luggage behind. It and his passport were back at the guesthouse. It was now going to cost them even more to go for his baggage. Later, he apologized and said to the whole group, “I’ll never criticize so harshly again!”

Because we all have faults and weaknesses, we should bear with one another and forgive each other when things go wrong (Col. 3:13). We need to be constructive in our criticism and “clothe [our]selves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (v.12 niv).

When correction is necessary, it should be done with kindness and love. In that way we become imitators of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Dear God, 

You know that there are times when I just don’t feel patient and humble and gentle. 

Those days in my life, the fruit of Your Spirit seems in short supply. 

Please enable me to love others today.

The keys to effective relationships are gentleness and humility.