As we look back we can thank God for what He has done in our lives and praise Him for everything He has brought us through and for all He will do in the New Year. It is important to take time to reflect on God’s faithfulness and see that He has been with us every step of the way. There is a lot to be thankful for which brings us into the next passage of our study in Colossians.
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 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. 17 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 3:15-17 ESV).
We can see that thankfulness is emphasized throughout this short passage. Thankfulness is an overflow of...
A heart ruled by the peace of God
A heart filled with the Word of God
A life surrendered to God
“An ungrateful heart is a heart that is cold toward God and indifferent to His mercy and love. ”
When we truly understand how we benefited from Jesus Christ’s costly, intentional, voluntary payment for our sin, it would result in thankfulness and hopefully the overflow of that thankfulness would be expressed to those around us through acts of compassion, kindness, humility, forgiveness, patience, giving people room to grow.
we allow the love of Christ to motivate and direct all of our actions towards others because of the love He revealed to us personally
Above all, we allow the love of Christ to motivate and direct all of our actions towards others because of the love He revealed to us personally.
An ungrateful heart is a heart that is cold toward God and indifferent to His mercy and love. It is a heart that has forgotten how dependent we are on God for everything. Sadly, we as God’s children at times fail to thank God for His blessings, just like the 10 lepers who were healed of their debilitating disease. Only one came back to thank Jesus while the others reaped the benefits of healing without a word of thanks.
A heart ruled by the peace of God
Paul is speaking specifically of relationships within the church, people who are unified in Christ despite their cultural heritage, past religious upbringing, or sociological differences (3:11). Paul said:
“For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one hope when you were called. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4:4-6)
We should aim for harmony in the church and seek to build each other up and not look for opportunities to tear each other down.
Whenever we get together for fellowship as a church, we are thankful for the opportunity to enjoy the oneness we have in Christ and experience the unity Jesus prayed that we would have with each other. Jesus prayed to God the Father, “may they be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and loved them even as you have loved me” (John 17:21-23 NIV).
But when we focus on differences, when we are critical, competitive, and when fault-finding rules the heart, it creates a spirit of discontentment and discord in the church which grieves the Spirit of God.
A heart filled with the Word of God
Paul is saying to the church, let the word dwell in your hearts richly, abundantly. Let that word speak to you, instruct you, correct you, comfort you, assure you, encourage and direct you. Teach and warn one another with those words through psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
“God causes all things to work together for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.”
When a person is filled with Christ’s word and walking in the Spirit and in humility, they will be aware of God’s goodness, and understand that He causes all things to work together for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. This produces a heart and tongue overflowing with thanksgiving in all things and for all things.
A life surrendered to God
A life surrendered to God is a life lived for Him. As we read in the beginning of Colossians 3, once we became believers we died and now our lives are hidden with Christ in God.
When we allow our hearts to be ruled by God’s peace and filled with His Words we will be overflowing with thankfulness and that overflow will be expressed in a life lived for Him.
We clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, forgiveness, and patience. We can choose each day to live from our new Source of life, in our new identity, with new priorities, because of our new destiny. When we spend time with God, in His Word, meditating on His promises, setting our minds on things above, our hearts will be governed or ruled by God’s peace and reflect on God’s favor and grace what will result is a heart of thanksgiving.
In this new year, who will be the recipient of your gratitude for all that God has graciously done and generously given you? We are at the start of a new year and we need to remember just like in 2018 there will be battles and blessings, battles and blessings, battle and blessings. Even in the midst of the battles and blessings, when we allow our hearts to be ruled by God’s peace and filled with His Words we will be overflowing with thankfulness and that overflow will be expressed in a life lived for Him.
