I'm going to quote our key verse again to wrap up this Rant series, with the understanding that we're going to continue to use it for the forseeable future as we look at each aspect of love we are to "put on." Colossians 3:12, "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering." And we've looked a little bit at the idea of "putting on" or sinking into the garment that we've already been given. Getting comfortable in it by using it. And we've looked at length at the truth that "kindness" means "usefulness." Because it is always useful to be kind. A soft, kind word can make all the difference in a situation. So tonight, as we end this Rant series and get ready to start a new one tomorrow, I want to take a look at the phrase "elect of God." "Elect" is number 1586 in Strong's Greek Concordance and it means, "select; by implication favorite: - chosen, elect." And I've said this many times... I'm God's favorite, and you are two. God is no respecter of persons. He sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. Look at Deuteronomy 32:10, "He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye." We--you, me, humanity--are the apple of God's eye. He loved us so much He would rather die than live without us. He loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son to us. So that we might know that we ARE His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. So that we might know God as Father and ourselves as Son. Jesus. God in the flesh. Love in a body. God in YOUR flesh. Love in YOUR body. And do you know what God did to His favorite? He gave us the best of everything. He wanted the best FOR us, so He gave the best TO us. So that the best (LOVE) could come out THROUGH us. He gave us all things that pertain to life and godliness. Including (but not limited to) the bowels of mercy, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, and longsuffering. These are not things we are to aspire to. That's not what "putting them on" means. These are things that we have. Things that we ARE. Because these are aspects of love. And love isn't just what God does, love is who God IS. And as He is, so are we in this world. So love is not just what we have... love is who we are. We are not called to act kind. We are called to be kind. Because when you get right down to it, "acting kind" will always be just that--an act. But when you know who you are, when you believe that you are who God says you are, then you can BE who you are. Blockbuster's slogan was, "Be kind, please rewind." Our slogan should be, "I am kind, so I will be kind." Because behavior is dictated by belief. What you do flows from what you believe. What's inside--what you believe is inside--comes out. Always has and always will. At the end of the day you are who you believe you are--either what the world tells you you are, or what God tells you you are. The world is unkind. It tells you all sorts of lies and tries to get you to jump through hoops to earn everything you have. God tells you the truth. And the truth is kind. Useful. Because the truth is: You are loved. And because you ARE loved, you CAN love!

Kindness isn't just what you do. Kindness is who you are. Because love is kind. And you are Jesus--God in the flesh, love in a body. God in YOUR flesh, love in YOUR body. So you are love. God is love, and He lives in you. He lives THROUGH you. As He is, so are we in this world. So what I'm trying to say is, when our key verse, Colossians 3:12, talks about "putting on" kindness, and humbleness of mind, and the bowels of mercy, and meekness, and longsuffering, I don't believe Paul is writing about getting something you haven't got. Because, again, all of those things are not just what you have. All of those things are who you are. Because all of those things are who Jesus is. So this idea of "putting on," to me, means USING the gift you've been given. LETTING the mind of Christ, that's already IN you... BE in you. And that phrase "Put on" in Colossians 3:12 is number 1746 in Strong's Greek Concordance, and it means, "in the sense of sinking into a garment." We already HAVE the garment. What we need to do is... put it on. Wear it. Sink into it and get comfortable with it. Because, like a new pair of shoes, it takes a little bit of use before they feel right. When we begin to throw of this idea of our old nature... when we stop dragging around the corpse of the dead old man... and when we begin to walk in righteousness--by walking by faith--it can be a little uncomfortable at first. It can seem a little unnatural. And I say "seem" because that IS our new nature. Our true nature. Once again, that's who we are. And its what we do BECAUSE its who we are. We do not do in order to be. We do because we be. We don't try to be someone we're not... once we know who we really are. Once we embrace our true selves. And that's what it means to walk in newness of life. Not struggling to get something we haven't got, or be someone that we're not, but knowing what we've got, and being who we are. And I'm telling you, if kindness means useful... that means YOU are useful. You have what people need. You can solve the world's problem. And, listen, now that I've said that big bold statement, let me say this too: You don't have to solve the ENTIRE world's problem. God so loved the world He gave His only Son to the world. And if He loved us that much, we ought to love one another. We ought to be kind to one another. Wherever we are. With whomever we come into contact with. If you're kind to someone when they REALLY need someone to be kind to them... you might have just saved THEIR whole world. And when you really start to come into--SINK INTO--your true identity, you will find yourself doing all of those things... effortlessly. You won't have to fake it til you make it. You'll find yourself being kind... all the time. Helping people just because they need help. Seeing a need and meeting it without thinking about it. People who think they need to pray about whether or not God wants them to be kind, or help people, or forgive people, or love people... Spoiler alert: God is ok with you showing people who He is. All of the time. No matter what. That's why He created us--so that He could love us, and so that we could love each other with that same love. We are His expression of love to the world. And one way that that starts is with us being who we are. Being kind!

Kindness is useful is every situation. Because love is kind. And love is the answer to every problem. And, listen, I've seen the jokes about students writing "love" or "Jesus" on their tests over and over, but clearly that's not what we're talking about. We're talking about people. And people need love. Bottom line. So look at Proverbs 17:9 (NLT), "Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends." And here's my thought for today: There is nothing more kind--nothing more useful--than forgiveness. I almost think that in some ways we take this aspect of God's love--of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross--for granted. I like to hit hard the point about Jesus being the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world. I think that's very important. But, like I said, we can't sleep on forgiveness. Because even if your sin (nature) is taken away... there are probably some things in your life that you're not very proud of. Things in your life that you feel guilty about. And that's where forgiveness comes in. You know how they say charity starts at home? Taking care of you and yours and then working out from there? Well, I think forgiveness starts within. You have to know that you are forgiven, and you have to forgive yourself. Then you can think about forgiving others. Because you can't give what you don't have. And you can only give what you do have. I know I say that just about every day, but I'm hoping somebody will hear it. REALLY hear it. Once you have been forgiven--and I believe that when Jesus was on the cross and He asked His Father to forgive them because they didn't know what they were doing, I believe He was praying for the people who were literally, physically crucifying Him... AND for everybody who had ever lived or would ever live. None of us knew what we were doing. We were all dark, and void, and without form before God spoke and said, "Let there be light."--once you have been forgiven, you can forgive yourself. And you can forgive others. You can let go of things that would otherwise hold you back from being in relationship with people. Dwelling on things can even separate close friends. I had a friend back in middle school, once upon a very long time ago. And something came between us. And we stopped being friends. That's not what the world needs. The world needs to build bridges, not walls. The world needs kindness. And forgiveness. Forgiveness is what makes love prosper. And grow. And, I'm telling you, when you forgive someone... THEY are probably dwelling on it. You can change their whole deal. And even if they aren't dwelling on it, because sometimes YOU dwell on things that they don't even realize they've done, forgiveness is like unlocking a jail cell and then realizing that YOU were the one in prison the entire time. Forgiveness frees us. Both those who did wrong, and those were wronged. And I can't hardly think of anything more useful than that. Not when it comes to people. Not when it comes to relationship. Not when it comes to fixing problems.

I can't think of a situation--and I really do put a lot of thought into this stuff... like all day every day--where being kind DOESN'T help. A soft, or kind, word turns away wrath, right? When someone wants to fight but you kill 'em with kindness... it really takes the wind out of their sails. When you turn the other cheek instead of trying an eye for an eye... that's hard to fight against. Because even when you're rip roaring angry, if you find yourself just beating on someone... well... it takes two to tango. So my point is, being kind is really useful. In every situation. Which, ironically, is the definition of kindness in our key verse: "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering" (Colossians 3:12). And I really want to get into the idea of "putting it on" maybe tomorrow. But for today I want to really hammer home how useful it is to be kind. And I want to grab 1 Corinthians 13:4, which says, "Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up." And the word "kind" is 5541 in Strong's Greek Concordance and it means, "to show oneself useful, that is, act benevolently: - be kind." Pretty much the same think as yesterday. But I do like the idea of "showing oneself." Because if love is something, that means WE are that thing. Because we are Jesus. God in the flesh. Love in a body. God in OUR flesh. Love in OUR body. So kindness is not just something we need... its something we have. Kindness is not just something we do... its something we ARE. Which, using Logan logic, means we ARE useful. When we show ourselves to be who we really are. When what's inside comes out. And what's inside comes out, naturally, when we know and believe that it's in there. And I like the phrasing of, "BE kind." I used Blockbuster's slogan, "Be kind, please rewind" as the start of this Rant series. But it works on a whole different level when we understand who we are and BE who we are. When we stop trying to be someone we're not and just be who we are. When we show ourselves. When we show up. When we show OUT. I've heard that just showing up is half the battle. I've heard that God is more interested in availability than ability. If God says go and you go... He'll get you there. He won't necessarily DRAG you there (although that has been known to happen, now and then) but He can carry you. Especially if you're willing to be useful. Especially if you're inserting love into a situation. Kindness is useful, because love is kind. YOU are useful, because you are kind when you act benevolently. "Benevolent," by the way, according to dictionary.com, is, "1. Characterized by or expressing goodwill or kindly feelings. 2. Desiring to help other; charitable." Charity is love in action. Charity is when we desire to help someone... and then we actually help them! Kindness isn't just wishing someone a good day. That's not especially useful. Kindness is HELPING someone have a good day. BE kind. Don't just THINK kind. Show up. Show yourself useful. Give people what you've got. Don't worry about what they're giving you. If they want to fight... again... kill 'em with kindness. Show them a more excellent way. Love the hell out of them. That's what people need. That's what we have. That's who we ARE. So be who you are. Be kind!

Remember Blockbuster videos? Or am I just that old? Either way, they had a slogan that said, "Be kind, please rewind." Remember VHS tapes? But I digress. That slogan always stuck with me. To the point that anytime anybody says anything about kindness, and especially (obviously) if someone says, "Be kind" I always in my head say, "Please rewind." Now I rambled my way through all of that to say this: Kindness is almost a lost art. To the point that sometimes we mistake kindness for flirting. We always think there is an ulterior motive behind everything. Especially nice things. We think, "This is too good to be true. What's really going on here?" But for the next few days--and maybe for the next few weeks, depending how it goes--I want to really look at Colossians 3:12. "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering." And I want to start with kindness, because of my (somewhat?) amusing Blockbuster story. But also because I think a little bit of kindness goes a long, long way. When people attack, it is sometimes (usually?) coming from a place of hurt. And if we just throw it right back--an eye for an eye--and escalate the situation, we're doing more hurting than helping. Let me say it another way: "A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger" (Proverbs 15:1). I think one of the kindest things you can do is turn the other cheek. Let go and let God, as they say. Let IT go. Don't make things worse by immediately hitting back when someone takes a swing at you. Love is longsuffering, right? It (HE) can suffer for a long time. It (HE) can take a lot. And it (HE) can still be kind no matter what. I don't like to argue. In fact, for the most part, I won't do it. I can't tell you how many times Logan has heard me say, "Son, I'm not going to argue with you." But I can tell you its a lot of times. But if I do get dragged into an argument, I try my best to have the RIGHT Word (capital W, love) instead of the last word. I would rather be kind then right. Ok. Before I finish this Rant I want to finish (see what I did there) building the foundation for the Rant series. And in the KJV Bible the word "kindness" in Colossians 3:12 is number 5544 in Strong's Greek Concordance. It means, "usefulness, that is, moral excellence (in character or demeanoer):- gentleness, good (-ness)." Like I said, I want to slow way down and look at all of the "things" we are to "put on." I want to stay with Colossians 3:12 for the forseeable future. Becauses I want to be kind. I want to be useful. I want to Rant about something real. Something that means something. I want to be kind, while encouraging you all to be kind. I think sometimes we get too deep theologically that people can't hold their breath to get down to where we're at. I don't want to do that. I want to make the Word accessible. Starting with the word, "Kindness." So... be kind. Help, instead of hurting. Be useful. Know what to say, when to say it, HOW to say it. Be gentle. Be soft. Be... kind.

Letting other people live is a big part of life. Because the truth of the matter is, you can't control what people do. And if you're spending (wasting) your three t's (time, talent, treasure) trying to get people to live up to your expectations, all you're really doing is setting yourself up for failure. I hope I've kind of made that point by now. And I don't want to belabor it. What I want to do is shift focus a little bit to end this Rant series. Letting other people live is a big part of life. But letting YOURSELF live is just as big, and just as important. Letting yourself make mistakes, and learn from them. Letting yourself try new things without fear of condemnation. From without OR within. Because I think oftentimes self-condemnation is the worst kind of condemnation. I think your worst enemy is right between your ears. Same for me. I'm not condemning you. I'm just saying. Nobody has been through all of the worst things that you've done... except you. And Jesus. He swore He would never leave you nor forsake you. He's with you through thick and thin. He's got your back, Jack. But my point is, we THINK we see the worst in each other sometimes (and I think we rarely, if ever, know the whole story of what someone else is going through anyway, but I digress), but we ALWAYS seem to see the worst in ourselves. We never think we're good enough, or smart enough. But what I want to try to impress upon us is that we CAN be brave enough. I was talking to Logan today about his first day of junior kindergarten when he rode the bus to school for the first time. And we were laughing because when he got home from school that first day I told him, "Bub, I was so proud of you! You got right on the bus like you weren't nervous or anything." And he looked me dead in the eye and said, "Oh I was nervous. Real nervous. But I knew I had to be brave so I just went for it." That day my boy was truly alive. He was nervous... but he was brave. He had to do something... so he went for it. And it turned out beautifully. He rode the bus like a champ. Because he let himself (forced himself?) to try something new. He knew I had his back. If he would have freaked out you better believe I would stepped up to the plate. If he had fallen, so to speak, you know I would have picked him up. And that's how our heavenly Father is: He's always there to pick us up when we stumble or fall. And He can even KEEP us from falling. He can HOLD us up. We think we're clinging to Him, when really He is holding onto us and won't let go. So we can take chances. We can do things we didn't think we were capable of. There's a line from a TV show where the son asks his father, "Can I be brave even when I'm afraid?" And the father says, "That's the only time you can be." I know our comfort zone is comfortable. Its appropriately named. But you have to go out on a limb once in a while. Because that's where the fruit it. And, really, Jesus is the vine and we ARE the branches. We already have the fruit, because He produced it. We have what we need to live. And we have what we need to let others live. Because we are loved. And because we are loved... we CAN love. That's what life is all about. That's what life is! To live is to love and to love is to live!

I'm not much of a worrier, by nature. In fact, it baffles people most of the time because even when there is something worthy of worry... I simply don't sweat it. But when I was about to start my ministry--and I HAVE been told that my family and Jesus is the only thing I take seriously, so... when I was about to start my ministry I was a little bit worried. Because its a big deal, ministering to people. Trying to help people. Getting involved with people. And, in fact, I can even remember when I was about to preach a message--I had taken over preaching the early service at our church before being officially ordained--and I made an announcement that I was no longer going to be just PREACHER Tom. I was fixing to get ordained, and I was going to be PASTOR Tom. Which meant, even though I didn't have an office... my office door was officially open. And if you know me, that was a big step for me. Because I'm not super comfortable in social situations. Standing up in front of people with a microphone and talking AT them? Much easier than talking TO them. So. When I was about to start my ministry I was a little bit worried. Because getting into relationship with people is a big deal. And I was worried--remember now, I was young and naive--I was worried that the people wouldn't listen to me and would continue to do whatever they wanted to do. Well, guess what: People DID listen to me... and continued to do whatever they wanted to do. Because that's what people do. But luckily for me, and this is really what I've spent about half of this Rant trying to say, my pastor gave me some bangarang advice when I was about to start my ministry. He told me, "Its not your job to make people do anything. Its your job to listen to the Lord and tell the people what you think He's saying to you. That's it." And that works as a preacher FOR SURE. But that works as a pastor too. I don't give advice very often. And certainly not when its not asked for. But when I do, I tend to live and die with, "Follow your heart. Trust your gut. Let love guide you." Because, to me, that's what God says. To me, that's the Word of God. Capital W. Jesus. Love. That's what God said in the beginning; Let there be light. He injected Himself into the dark void that was His creation. The heaven and the earth. The mind and the body. YOU. God gave His only begotten Son to YOU so that YOU might not perish but have everlasting life. He gave you Himself. His Spirit. The love receptor. Because the Holy Spirit does not make us someone God can all of a sudden love. God always has and always will love you. The Holy Spirit--the Spirit of truth--is what let's us know and believe that He always has and always will love us. So my point, now that I'm almost done with this Rant, is that you can't make people do anything. And worrying about what people are going to do is a waste of time. People are going to do what they're going to do. What's that old saying? Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it. And, here it is, my advice is: Follow your heart. Trust your gut. Let love guide you. Love people no matter what. Let them be who they are. Live and let live. And don't worry about what's going to (or probably NOT going to) happen next.

The only way to truly be able to connect with someone... to love them with a true agape love... is to let people be who they are. If you're trying to change somebody--listen, I've heard this a lot in the "Church world" and I sure don't like it. People always say, "God loves you just the way you are, but He loves you too much to leave you that way." I agree with the first part whole heartedly. God loves you just the way you are. One hundred percent. And since God sees you the way you really are, He's able to say, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." He sees the true you. Jesus. God in the flesh. Love in the body. He sees Himself in you. Because He see you in Himself. Christ in you the hope of glory. So this idea that God has to change you in order to--what? Love you more? I don't really know--this idea that God has to change you, to me, is just flat out wrong. Because that implies that there is something wrong with you. Listen to me: There is nothing wrong with you. You are exactly who you are supposed to be. You were fearfully and wonderfully made. God made you specifically you. And anybody who doesn't accept you for who you are... anybody who needs to change you in order to "love" you... doesn't understand what love is. Because love doesn't demand its (HIS) own way. Love is unconditional. Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. Nothing you've done, and nothing you're going to do. But what we do is we fall out all the time. Over stuff that is really unimportant. I still remember when my stepmom (my OTHER mom, because she's legit) was teaching one of my classes at Bible College and she said, "When you start to get angry, think about whether it will even matter a year from now." Point being, some things plain straight aren't worth your anger. Some things aren't worth your time or effort. We let things (and people) live in our brains rent free and they don't need to be there. We let things control us that have no power except the power we give them. Let me say it the way I usually say, "Check yourself before you wreck yourself." And in this case, I'm trying to say, "Check what's going on before you let it wreck you." Another one of my fortune cookie pearls of wisdom goes like this, "When I can't do anything about something, I find it best not to do anything about it." Because sometimes, even with good intentions, we make things worse. We think we know best. And, listen, when it comes to me raising my son... I'm the one who is responsible for him. The buck stops here. But unless you're the parent of a young child, you're not in charge of other people. And, really, you can't MAKE people do... anything really. So the best thing you can do is live and let live. And by "live" I mean love. And by "let live" I mean let people be who they are. Love people no matter what. Don't try to change people. True change comes from within, not from without. And no matter how much you want someone to change... people are going to be who they are whether you want them to or not. So in order to be in relationship with someone, you can't demand your own way, and you can't demand people BE a certain way. You have to give and take. Compromise. And most of all, you have to love.

I've never been so frustrated in my life as when I tried to make somebody be who I thought they should be. Because, at the end of the day, people are going to be who they believe they are. What you do flows from what you believe. What you believe is inside WILL come out. Naturally. Automatically. So even if you're trying to elevate someone... anytime you try to modify behavior from the outside-in you're setting THEM up for failure, and you're setting YOURSELF up for frustration and disappointment. Because even if you're trying to elevate someone, you usually end up condemning them. You see something you don't like, something you want to change, and you attack it. But love doesn't demand its (HIS) own way. Love doesn't condemn. There is no condemnation in Christ. We don't have to change people. We are simply called to love people. And love doesn't worry about who you are or what you're doing. Because love knows love is all you need. Love knows that just by showing up... He can make all the difference in the world. And let me tell you something: When someone is, how can I say this politely, acting a fool... and you show them nothing but unconditional love and support (And I'm NOT saying you need to support what they're doing. There are things in this life that you absolutely should not stand for)... remember when we were talking about people crying because they don't know what else to do? I think sometimes when someone is expecting you to kick them when they're down, and instead you reach down and help them up, I think sometimes people don't know what to do in that situation either. Its like love is too good to be true. When really love is so good that is MUST be true. Love IS the truth. The ultimate truth of the universe; God is love and He loves you. The Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His hands. So the truth is... we have everything we need. God wanted the best for us so He gave the best to US. He gave His Spirit to us, so that we might know and beileve the love He has always had for us. Because the cross did not turn us into someone that God could love. God always has and always will love us. The cross turned us into someone who could RECEIVE His love. That's what the Holy Spirit--the Spirit of Truth--is. It (HE) is the love receptor. And that's so vitally important because you can't give what you don't have. And you can only give what you do have. So when you receive God's love... you can release it. You can stop worrying about what people are doing and you can just love them. You can live and let live. You can let people be who they are, instead of trying to make them be who you think they should be. You can let people learn and grow. Make mistakes and learn from those mistakes. More is learned by mistakes than by success. Sometimes you have to do it wrong before you can do it right. You have to learn to crawl before you can walk. Baby steps. And sometimes it is two steps forward and one step back. That's ok. Its still progress. Living is about loving. Learning and growing. Letting people be who they are even while they are finding out who they are. Loving people no matter what. Giving people what they need. Because you know and believe that you have what they need!

You've heard the phrase, "Live and let live," right? Well, I think the Bible kind of says that same thing like this, "So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1 NLT). No condemnation. Letting people be who they are. Letting people make mistakes. Letting people disagree with you, and still loving them. Love is unconditional. It (HE) doesn't keep a record of rights and wrongs. Loving people isn't about what they do. Loving people is more about who they are. But love is REALLY about who YOU are. Jesus. God in the flesh. Love in a body. God in YOUR flesh. Love in YOUR body. Being filled to overflowing with God's love so that it comes out of you. Naturally. See, we ALL belong to Him. First of all, He created us. Look at John 1:3 NLT, "God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him." What I'm trying to say is that we were not only created FOR God--as an expression of His love--we were created BY God, THROUGH God. We were created FOR love, BY love, and THROUGH love. And, by the way, we were created TO love. To be loved by God and to love one another with that same love. Not to dominate and control one another. Not to manipulate each other. Love doesn't demand its (HIS) own way. Love doesn't say, "Do this or else." Love doesn't say, "I'll only love you if." Love doesn't try to get people to do... anything, really. I'll quote my personal definition of love again: "I will gladly spend myself and all I have for you, even though it seems that the more I love you, the less you love me" (2 Corinthians 12:15). Giving everything you have and everything you are no matter how they respond. It doesn't matter if your love is received or not. It matters that you give it. That you do what YOU can do. And then don't worry about what comes next. Some plant, some water, but God makes it grow. Just because you don't see the results doesn't mean they aren't there. Seeds take time to grow. You can't just plant a seed and then dig it up and be mad at it because it didn't bear fruit. Good things take time. And let me tell you what my pastor told me when I began my ministry, "Its not your job to change people. You can't make people do what you want them to do." So stop condemning people. Stop trying to get people to be who YOU think they should be. Let people be who they are. And love them anyway. That's one of my favorite "Christian" songs. "You love me anyway." Because God never stops loving us. He can't. Love isn't just what God does. Love is who God is. He would have to stop being God in order to stop loving us. And even if He could do that, He never would. The whole point of the whole thing is love. Letting God love us, and loving each other with that same love. Not judging each other according to appearance, but judging righteous judgment. Not telling people what's wrong with them, but telling people what's right with them. Training up our children in the way they SHOULD go. Not berating people, or kicking them when they're down, but reaching down and pulling them up. Giving second chances. Allowing U-turns. Encouraging U-turns. Helping people MAKE U-turns. And most of all... living and letting others live. Life is hard enough without condemnation in it. We all need each other.