And Be Thankful
Above all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. 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, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with gratefulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
Colossians 3:14 - 17 LSB
Words often stop me in my tracks. Sometimes, it is the unexpected appearance of a word like grant, give or cause. For example, we are told in the Word of God that God grants (gives) forgiveness (2 Timothy 2:25); He causes us to be born again (1 Peter 1:3), and He grants by His divine nature and precious and magnificent promises for us to have all we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3 – 4). In our flesh, those unanticipated proclamations challenge our perspectives and alter our thinking. We learn in those passages that we do not come to our Great God and Savior, rather, He is the Author and the Source. God chooses. God does. God is the Sovereign, therefore, it is His to grant, give and cause.
In that words jump out to me, it shouldn’t surprise you that there is a phrase, a command really, which has invaded my thoughts of late to the point of obsession – And be thankful. As you read through Paul’s letter to the church in Colossae, you will see, both in context but also in continuity, the command – not suggestion – to this attitudinal shift is not an add on in the letter. Rather, it flows through the heartbeat of the text. It is also not a new concept that Paul is introducing to the church. Thankfulness, gratitude, and gratefulness are the lifeblood of our response to God, expressed in obedience, in humility, in wisdom and in worship. Thankfulness transforms our hearts toward God, for God and in relationship with God.
What I love is the simplicity of it. It begins with AND. Throughout the Word of God, when we are commanded to give thanks, to express an attitude of gratefulness, there is never a qualifier. We are not told in your abundance give thanks or as you agree with God about how He meets your needs be thankful. No, it is to be our response in all circumstances – triumph or trial, abundance or need, joy or despair – it is the same response. The reason is as simple as the word – we owe God everything. If God had not chosen me, made me, saved me, sanctified me, the AND would not need to be spoken because it would not be heard. By definition, our very existence requires an obedience to God’s command, AND BE THANKFUL.
I also adore the on and on-ness of the verb, BE. Thankfulness is to be a continual expression. Not past, not future, but rather an articulation and an attitude that flows from moment to moment, happening to happening, breath to breath. We often view our lives as a series of snap shots, moments frozen in time. God, however, commands us in such a way that there is no interruption to the flow – BE HOLY, BE BLAMELESS, BE THANKFUL. Our lives are not broken into memory or moment, they are relational to and with our Creator God. My life, hidden with Christ in God, will not cease, therefore, His command to BE, endures.
And finally, THANKFUL reminds me of my place in light of God’s magnificent glory! Yahweh is the height, the width, the depth and the breath of all that is. I can know no joy, no satisfaction outside of Him, therefore, only in Him and through Him can I express true gratitude and thankfulness. And in the expression of gratitude to God, the overflow of my heart is to be thankful, increasingly, in all things.
Every form of thankfulness or gratitude to God has at its heart this reality – He is Maker; I am that which was made. A right response requires a heart bathed in thankfulness, poured out as an act of worship to HIM who made me to KNOW true GLORY! In the abundance of God, joyfully embrace His command – AND BE THANKFUL!
Written by: Carol A. Jenkins (11/2022)
