A Weekly Word: Colossians 2:6-7
January 01, 2020
In just a few days we celebrate Thanksgiving. No doubt we’ll eat too much turkey and watch too many football games while enjoying (or tolerating) the annual influx of family members. We may even pause to thank God for blessings experienced over the last year. Our Thanksgiving traditions may be sincere, but do they connect us to the deep wellsprings of spiritual vitality Paul described in this brief passage?
Paul encourages the Colossian church to remain faithful by identifying several characteristics of authentic Christians. They are “rooted and built up in ”; they are “strengthened in the faith as were taught.” Finally, they are “overflowing with thankfulness.” It’s no accident that thankfulness concludes Paul’s list. What he means here is more than a sentimental feeling, more than an occasional acknowledgement that we are blessed; it’s an abiding sense of gratitude that flows out of a deep relationship with Christ.
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
Colossians 2:6-7
Of course, it’s easy to be thankful when our needs are met, our bodies are healthy and our relationships are whole. But what about the times when we experience illness, loss, uncertainty, broken relationships?
As a deacon in my church, one Sunday afternoon it was my turn to visit an elderly lady whose advanced diabetes had required the amputation of her leg. I dreaded that visit, not knowing what to say to a person recovering from such a devastating loss. But when I walked into the room, Ruby greeted me with a bright smile and encouraging words. It was as if her loss of a limb was healed by a heart full of thanks — for being alive, for her loving family, for her church, most of all for Jesus Christ. I’ve never forgotten her example of profound gratitude under such difficult circumstances.
Not just during this season of Thanksgiving, but through all our days, may we pray, with the poet George Herbert,
Thou that has given so much to me,
Give one thing more — a grateful heart.
By Stan Poole, Vice President of Academic Affairs
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