Above All Put On Love

In Colossians 3:12-17 Paul is listing virtues that a believer must put on. But in verse 14 Paul lists one that is chief or best of all. He says, "And beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity." Love is to be the priority in the life of the believer. Love is the crowning grace. Love is above all the rest because it binds all the rest together. Love is the glue that produces unity in the church and testimony to the community.

In chapter three of Colossians Paul is instructing believers to put off the clothes of the old man and put on the garments of the new man. Love is the belt that holds those new garments together. None of the other virtues works apart from love. That is why love is the priority. For a Christian to try and practice the other virtues apart from love would be empty and futile. One writer said, "Love is the lubricant that enables the other virtues to function smoothly."

Love is the preeminent grace. The love that Paul is talking about is that intelligent and purposeful self-giving. It is sacrificing of self for the sake of another's good. This love is seen in the Father (John 3:16) and the Son (Galatians 2:20). Selfishness in all of its forms must be fully put down and replaced by love if we are to experience the perfect bond of unity. Love truly is the beauty of the believer, dispelling the ugly sins of the flesh that destroy unity and testimony.

Clearly the Bible states that love is the priority because love can do what nothing else can do by itself. Love is the fulfillment of the Law (Galatians 5:14; Romans 13:8-10). Love fulfills the law because love does a neighbor nothing but good even if the neighbor is an enemy. That explains the supremacy of love. That is why it is above all others and binds all others together.

Love must be the priority of the believer. The supremacy of love must be understood and practiced.

How? How do we keep love supreme in our thinking and living? As I pondered this I looked back to Colossians 3:12 which starts off by saying, "And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved." Paul is telling us to practice these virtues, including love, bearing in mind who we are. Who are we? We are chosen by God, holy and beloved! There is a lot we could say about this but let's just focus on the beloved part. As a Christian you are the object of God's special, saving love. You have been set apart by God and made the object of a love God has reserved for His children. So, knowing that I am loved by God and that nothing can separate me from God's love (Romans 8:38-39) helps me to relax, rejoice, and to love other people. I'm not hung up by whether or not others are loving me like they should because I am enjoying the perfect, eternal love of my Savior. This frees me up to put off a desire to get and put on the desire to give.

What a difference it makes when we cut it straight and think according to the Bible rather than the world. Ephesians 5:1-2a is powerful and practical when it says, "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children: and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you." So let us exult in God's love for us by practically putting on love beyond all else.