In Everything, Thanksgiving

Have you ever received a gift that seemed too good to be true? Think about it for a moment. What was the best gift you have ever received? As a kid, you may have been full of excitement about such a gift but not aware of the real gratitude you should have been consumed with. As an adult, you probably were full of thanks in your heart as you properly reflected on the kindness another shed towards you for such a gift.

November is a month we are reminded often to stop and be thankful. Thanksgiving is about so much more than just the extravagant food, right? Well I have been challenged in my thinking recently with this idea of being thankful. It truly came about simply because of daily interacting with God’s word and seeing phrase after phrase emphasize the heart attitude of thankfulness.

I have been studying Colossians for a couple of months now. Chapters 1 and 2 are heavy in doctrine as they point to the supremacy of Christ. Chapters 3 and 4 are full of application as we strive to live in light of who Christ is and live in a yielded lifestyle to what His word says. So, we see who Christ is in chapters 1 and 2, and we see how that should affect our lives in practical ways in chapters 3 and 4.

As I was focusing on chapter 3, I really was hit with this concept of thanksgiving. Paul begins chapter 3 by pleading with the believers of this church to set their minds on things above. He continues to the model of genuine heart change of a believer that we find all throughout Scripture. Put off, renew, put on. He first lists several sins we are to fervently distance ourselves from as we daily renew our minds with His word and then continues to the put on character qualities that magnifies Christ’s character. Verses 12-17 contain this “put on” section. Here in the text we see a clear list we can cling to as what godly living looks like.

“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).

You could spend a lot of time studying this passage. There is uniqueness to each “put on” command. Just grazing your eyes over the verses will not do justice to the gravity of how this text is urging us as believers to live. But as I was studying this, I really was just overwhelmed with this aspect of thankfulness. If you read back through those verses, thankfulness is the only command repeated. It is a command characterizing the other commands. And as I meditated a little more on thankfulness, I couldn’t help but dive into this topic a little deeper. Let’s first look at why we should be thankful.

A Proper Perspective

First we should define thankfulness. Webster defines it as “being conscious of a benefit received.” Why should a believer’s life be characterized with a spirit of gratitude? The answer is not complex. Because in myself, there is nothing good, and I deserve eternity separated from God. To first understand that I have been given that which I could never deserve through Christ’s atonement for me is our starting ground for a heart transformed into thankful living.

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23-24).

Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection must be on our minds. That is the framework for transformed thinking. I deserve death. But I have been given eternal life. That truly is the foundation to why we can and should be thankful always. The gospel changes everything. Return your heart to the giver as you meditate on the gift you have been given. A heart bent towards remembering all the spiritual blessings found in Christ will result in starvation for gratitude. How can we not be thankful when we remember what we deserve but rest in what we’ve been given? Let’s transition now into how we can be thankful.

In Pursuit

“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving” (Colossians 2:6-7).

What is your pursuit today? What are you chasing? Where is your mind narrowed to? If the answer is anything other than knowing God more and making Him known to others, I challenge you to refocus your mind to what Paul urges us to be striving towards. “Set your minds on things above” (Colossians 3:2). And how can we can truly live this way? Walk in Him. To be rooted, built up, and established gives us a picture that it is unmovable. But to daily walk in Him takes effort.

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:4-5).

It takes a balanced blend of diligent pursuit and dependent living. Because apart from Christ we can do nothing. But in Christ, we are strengthened by who He is and presented with the ability to live empowered by that supernatural strength to daily walk in Him. To walk in Him means to do the next right thing. We know what the next right thing is as we familiarize ourselves more and more with His words.

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2).

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).

It starts with a heart intent on knowing God. It takes this diligent pursuit to know Him more. And as we know Him more, we will inevitably love Him more. And as we love Him more, this cycle of knowing, learning, and loving will become our heart’s theme as we abide and walk in Him. All things we strive for with thankfulness in our heart as we pursue Him through His word and remember who He is and what He has done for us.

Be thankful as you pursue that which really matters. Be thankful.

In Prayer

“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:2).

Paul again is urging the church at Colossae to put on another attribute that would magnify Christ. “Continue steadfastly in prayer.” To continue steadfast in prayer means that it should be a regular habit in our lives. Prayer is such a gift to us as Christians. The fact that we can have such a relationship with the Creator of the world is amazing. And that he desires for us to talk to him in prayer is also a precious truth. But not only is it his desire, but it is also a command. We are to be devoted to this way of living. God takes delight in our simply asking Him for things. I am not speaking to only material things, because our greatest need is God himself. So, we should pray for more knowledge, more love to overflow, more truth to be aligned in our minds. “The prayer of the upright is His delight” (Proverbs 15:8).

This idea of being watchful in Colossians 4:2 is one of importance. Just as a guard on duty has the responsibility to be watchful and not sleeping on the job, we have the duty to be on guard and eagerly doing our part to distance ourselves from the evil in this world. Without a vigilant pursuit of watchfulness, we will be more apt to fall prey to the Devil’s schemes. Ephesians 6:10-20 should be noted here. The evil around us really is prevalent. It would be foolish to be lackadaisical in our approach to fighting sin. It takes a watchful, ready attitude to be on guard and put off that which goes against the character of our God.

Thirdly, in the last part of this verse we see again “with thanksgiving.” Thanksgiving must be infused in every aspect of our lives. When we pray, we are to be thankful. And we have so much to be thankful for. We have access to God through prayer. We have eternity with our Savior awaiting us. We have the Spirit within us illuminating our eyes to the truth. All these things through Christ’s finished work on the cross. How could we not thank God in our prayer life?

Be thankful in your prayers. Be thankful.

In Community

“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” (Colossians 3:12-15).

Unity among believers is sprinkled all through Paul’s writings. How can we demonstrate a heart of thankfulness if we aren’t striving to live peaceably with all men? A heart that is reverenced to God and is striving to have a spirit of thankfulness will not have a spirit of disunity. If we dwell on the truth that we have been forgiven, how could we have the right to withhold forgiveness from another? How can we not strive for compassionate hearts towards others when what we really deserve is death, separation from God? Our focus is everything. With a proper perspective comes proper application. I am called to put off what my unregenerate state reflected and put on this list of virtues that magnifies Christ. But infused throughout these verses we must remember; thankfulness identifies with each command.

Be thankful with and for the body of Christ. Be thankful.

In conclusion, we must remember that thankfulness is not governed by the absence of conflict in our lives but rather it is fully dependent on where our affections rest. Affections bent towards eternal things result in a thankful lifestyle. In Colossians 1 we see that Christ is supreme. He really is all we need. Think about that for a moment. If you didn’t have anything else in the world, but you have Christ, you have EVERYTHING you need. And that is why we can be thankful in all life’s circumstances. Because we have the greatest gift of all, the giver Himself.

“I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds” (Psalm 9:1)