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. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:12-17, ESV)

There is so much in this passage of Holy Scripture that it could probably keep us busy for an entire lifetime. Well, come to think of it, this succinct description for the life of the Christian will keep us busy for our lifetime as strangers and pilgrims in this increasingly alien and alleged “postmodern” culture. Let me draw your attention to verse 15 again – Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts. As we put this with verse 12, and remember we are the elect of God as the King James Version puts it, one can see why even in this backward world we really can have the peace of Christ.

Now maybe you have been feeling rather inconsequential lately and wondering if you will be able to accomplish anything of lasting value for your Lord. Sure you can. Think for a moment about the woman at the well in John 4. Jesus would end up using her to bring about a veritable revival to the whole community of Sychar simply because she was willing to tell a few people about Christ! You’ll notice that God didn’t use some sort of “church leader” or someone who might be considered “important” by others. O no, right in keeping with His Word the Master:

chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things–and the things that are not–to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. (1 Corinthians 1:27-29)

You see why it is so important to follow God the Holy Spirit’s advice in verse 16 of the opening text and – Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly; God will always honor what He said, but too many today are going by what they “feel” He may have–or even worse–what they think He should have said. Today I encourage you to rest in your Lord and to simply believe what God has clearly said in the Bible. Can you do that? Sure you can. All you need to do is to keep in mind that the Christian life is one where – We live by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).

In closing, let me share something that George Mueller once said:

The natural mind is ever prone to reason, when we ought to believe; and to be at work, when we ought to be quiet; to go on our own way, when we ought to walk on in God’s ways, however trying to nature.

And beloved of God, let us also remember that Jesus has said – “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these” (Matthew 19:14). So, can you trust your Heavenly Father just as a little child does his earthly parent? Sure you can.