“But above all things put on love, which is the bond of perfection” (Colossians 3:14).
The Apostle Paul has concern for Christians in Colossae because not all of them have seen his face, and evidently not all of them are as well grounded in the faith as he would like. He warns them against being deceived by false teachers.
Thus, the encouragement and warnings in chapter 3 seem to be well placed. And Paul feels they can bolster their faith by adding a good dose of love to their spiritual qualities. He goes to far as to say “love” is at the top: it is the greatest “bond.”
A “bond” is an agent that “holds things together.” This admonition he writes to a church whose membership includes both Jews and Gentiles. He tells them to bind themselves together with love, even though they do have extremely diverse religious backgrounds.
This message cannot be lost on us today. Our problems surely are not as diverse as theirs: their religious backgrounds were as different as one could imagine. So, whatever difficulties we may encounter in our congregations today, we can learn from Paul’s admonition—let love be the factor that brings us together in a mutual understanding of God’s word and that allows us to work together in peace and unity.