Our Top Three Roles as a Covenant Family

I am excited about what God might do in and through this school body.

By: Stephen Ready, interim head of school

“Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, 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

There is so much in the four short chapters of the book of Colossians that challenges me on how I should live as a follower of Christ. Paul’s message to the church at Colossae lays out the character of Christ, His redemptive work on the cross, and the implications of His saving grace on our personal and corporate lives.

The weighty verses of Colossians 3:12-17 have a significant and powerful message to who we are as a covenant school, not to mention its impact on the global church. In these verses, Paul lays out the distinguishing traits of a body of believers that has been rescued and redeemed by Christ. There is a calling for us to live differently than the world, but more importantly to live like Christ himself.

As we continue fulfilling the vision at Perimeter School of seeing the home, church, and school work in unison to propel students toward kingdom impact, we must be committed to the sometimes hard work of pursuing these truths together. As you recommit to being part of this covenant body during this season of re-enrollment, I invite you to consider what God wants out of our school community of believing families.

Our active role in becoming more like Christ

"Put on" is a phrase that Paul uses twice in verses 12-14 in addition to the numerous times it is mentioned in the rest of chapter 3. This phrase is challenging because it alludes to the intentional decision that we as believers must make every day. Paul is basically saying, “In the same way that you decide what shirt or outfit you wear today, put these character traits on."

Christ's redemption has freed us to be able to walk in humility, meekness, and patience. Because of His Spirit, we can now choose to pursue and "put on" these distinguishing features of believers. That is both exciting and difficult when we think about parenting and relationships at work or with friends. In every difficult situation, Christ is calling us to His high standard, and He gives us the power to be able to pursue it.

Our active role in letting Christ work in us

While Paul commands us to take an active role in our sanctification by "putting on," he also highlights a few areas where we need to rest and sit awhile. Paul's use of the word "let" in verses 15 and 16 implies that our more natural response to life and circumstances would NOT be to let these things happen. Our natural response to hard situations is not to "let peace rule in our hearts" or to "let the word of Christ dwell in us."

It is easier and more automatic to worry, stress, and produce worldly wisdom. It is not easy to let Christ's peace rule. Now, this is still a conscious choice that we must make, but it is a choice to let His peace rule in us. In the same way, it is not natural to let the Word of Christ dwell in us. We must consciously choose to read, memorize, or listen to His Word and then let it dwell in us through the day.

Our active role in linking arms

I love that our school is a body of believers attempting to pursue these things together. Of course, we do not do this perfectly. Yet, as I have gotten to know more and more families, I see a genuine, collective desire to pursue Christ and be more like Him. That excites me because I need help, encouragement, and even accountability to pursue Christ in these areas.