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The list of sins in Colossians 3:1-10 pretty much sums up the condition of unrepentant man. Any one of the sins listed is enough to condemn us to a certain eternity of punishment. Any believer who thinks they are above committing one of these sins has already sinned: they've just told a whopper of a lie. As I look at the list, I am ashamed to realize how many of these sins have been problems in my own life down through the years. There are still a whole lot of things that I need to "rid myself" of. But that is the process of sanctification at work. . . God recognizing in us that life is a journey, that the Christian life is not a perfect life while here on this earth, an that we all have a long way to go in claiming the victory.

On top of all that is the difficulty of replacing the sin and negative behavior with specific, virtuous behavior. It's one thing to lose a bad habit or make a conscious decision to avoid bad language or to control my temper; it's quite another to replace that bad behavior with "saintly" behavior! Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience? Not quite there yet on all those fronts.

So it's a great reminder and source of encouragement to see that Paul includes in verse 13 a very important reminder - that we are to forgive, as Christ forgave us. Thanks be to God who has forgiven my sins - past, present and future!