Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of
God, and Timothy our brother,
To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ
at Colossae:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father. (v.1-2)
Despite
considerable hardship and suffering St. Paul was a genuinely thankful person. I
suppose it helps when you…
- Know who you are—he had an identity as an apostle of Christ Jesus.
- Know what your purpose is— he had a mission to live out the will of God.
- Want God’s best for others—his greeting was more of a blessing to convey a very real grace and peace to them.
It seems that we should be
thankful as well, for pretty much the same reasons. In a world where the word
“incite” not only stresses a stirring up and urging on of mostly negative
things like riots, violence, fear, panic, and other chaotic acts, I would like
to change things up and use incite together with “thankfulness”. In the United
States, we are approaching our annual Thanksgiving holiday (the fourth Thursday in November) and I think we should begin to encourage people to be thankful.On this
particular occasion, as recorded in Colossians 1, St. Paul was incited to
thankfulness by the report he had received about the spiritual growth of the
Colossian believers and at the same time sought to incite the Colossians to
greater thankfulness themselves. Let’s see what contributing factors to
inciting thankfulness are revealed in this passage…and hopefully, we can employ
them right away!
8 Ways We Can Help To Incite Thankfulness This Year
“We
always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you”
It is one thing to thank people for what they do, but it is another to
constantly thank God for them in our prayers. It is in our times of
private prayer that we can lapse into complaining about others to God...unless
we are really thankful. Here Paul models a different kind of prayer…one that is
consistently and sincerely thankful for others.2. Pray for them not just that God would change them (v.3)
When we pray, let's be intentional about praying positive things for others, not just corrective things. I always say that if we are praying for others to change, then to be fair we need to pray for ourselves to change. It is in prayer that we can be advocates, helping to bear one another’s burdens not add to them. This week, let’s pray heaven into the lives of many unsuspecting family and friends…and perhaps incite them to thankfulness.
3. Brag on other people’s spiritual growth (v.4-5, 8)
“…since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the
love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid
up for you in heaven.”
Instead of criticizing others in an effort to lift ourselves up, we
should recognize and call out their spiritual growth in response to the gospel, celebrating even the small victories.
Paul recognizes and gives thanks to God for the faith, love, and hope of the Colossian church.
- Faith = trusting in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection on our behalf. It is by faith that Christ dwells in our hearts (Eph. 3:17). They were living by faith in Christ not fear of the world.
- Love = Jesus taught that love for other believers was proof of discipleship for his followers. (John 13:35)
- Hope = they had a settled confidence in the promise of heaven. Hope doesn’t allow us to fall victim to discouragement or despair. Such hope will produce considerable gratitude.
“Of this you have heard
before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you,
as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also
does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace
of God in truth…”
These days when we are barraged with
negativity on all levels and the world seems to be in utter chaos, we tend to
be thankful for good news. and growing people. God is at work, though the
alphabet news stations rarely cover it. I don’t want to deny that many terrible
things happen, but as we engage in working for social justice in our
communities we must not lose sight of God’s victories along the way. So this
Thanksgiving season, instead of letting “how bad things are” dominate our
conversations, what if we were to intentionally share something positive or
inspiring that God is doing? He is doing great things!
5. Live and serve faithfully (v.7)
“… just as you learned it
from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful
minister of Christ on your behalf…”
Paul noticed Epaphras’ faith service. Paul himself served faithfully
despite much opposition both within and without the church. God’s kingdom is
not focused on gaining a bigger platform or trendier audience but upon faithfulness as
humble servants. Humility and faithfulness have been known to incite
thankfulness in those they touch. Paul also challenged the Colossians to be faithful to the gospel, keeping Jesus at the center of their life and practice, rather than following false teachings.
6. Be
persistent and particular in prayer (v.9)
“And
so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you asking that you may be filled with the knowledge
of his will in all spiritual wisdom and
understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of
the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work
and increasing in the knowledge of
God."
We often hear that we should be persistent in prayer and some teach we
need to be very specific in our requests if we are to get what we ask. I want
to suggest that we should be specific in praying for others. I’m suggesting
that when possible we don’t just tell people that we are praying for them, but
that we actually tell them how we are praying for them. Certainly, we can do this
by praying with the person when they make the request, but sometimes we hear
about a request on Facebook, email, etc. In those cases, perhaps the Lord would
prompt us to type out our Spirit-led prayer so that it can be an ongoing
encouragement.
In the verses above, St. Paul told the Colossians how he prayed. As I noted recently on another blog, Don’t Get Cocky, we need
these same things today! If we
are going to connect the dots" we need precise and correct knowledge of
God's will for society not just for us as individuals. We need spiritual wisdom from
above, not the "dark side" (James 3:13-18) if we are to use our
knowledge fruitfully. Finally, we need understanding (Greek synesis)
which enables us to put the pieces together into a cohesive whole; to treat the
causes, not just the symptoms, and incite genuine thankfulness, not riots or rebellion.
Why
did Paul pray this for them? (v. 10) Note his purpose statement, “So as to…”
- Walk worthy of the Lord. This means living life his way, manifesting the kingdom values found in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12)
- Be fully pleasing to him (see Hebrews 11:6) having faith in his goodness.
- Bearing fruit in every good work not producing lousy fruit in evil works.
- Continue to increase in the knowledge of God, as life-long learners not as those who have arrived. And the more we know and understand God, the more thankful we will become.
Paul prayed
for them to be strengthened in a God-kind of way. Why? Because they would need the strength of
heaven to live this way—swimming against the cultural current if you will. This
second purpose statement is found in two small words, “for all…”
7. Patiently
and joyfully finish what God called you to start. (v.11)
“May you
be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance
and patience with joy…”
Lord knows we need God’s strength if we are
going to live lives not only of patience (remaining under difficulties without
quitting), and endurance (a longsuffering attitude that doesn’t retaliate), but
do so with joy. Wow! That is not in our human nature to do over the long haul. Thankfully,
not only do we need God to strengthen
us, he wants to do it!8. Be thankful to the Father (v. 12-13).
“...giving thanks to the Father,
who has qualified you
to share in the inheritance of
the saints in light.
He has delivered us
from the domain of
darkness
and transferred
us
to the kingdom
of his beloved Son,
in whom we have redemption,
the forgiveness of
sins.
We should be filled with gratitude to the
Father because he qualified us to inherit the kingdom of heaven when he adopted
us as his own. He delivered us from being ruled by darkness and the dreads,
deeds, and desires found there. He transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved
Son. We are not merely refugees living in a camp for people who don’t belong,
but full and free citizens because of Christ. He has redeemed us and forgiven
our sins. So are we becoming more thankful or more fearful?
One final thought, expressed by way of a
question. Are we people who abound in
thanksgiving, or are just thankful that we abound? (Col. 2:6-7)
As we move towards the Thanksgiving Holiday,
let’s make an effort in these areas instead of inciting riots, violence, or
fear/terror/anxiety, etc. Let us work “subversively” to incite thankfulness.
Are you with me?
It looks like the Panda agrees!
Greg, it seems that gratitude is the true mark of someone who truly understands their need for what God and his kingdom offers, a "poor in spirit" person. As I read in Romans yesterday, I noticed something I had never seen before. (What a surprise, right?) Of all passages to find this in but the Rom 1:18 - 32 passage. But tucked into verse 21 is one of the two reasons why "...we become futile in our thinking and our foolish heart is darkened" . Verse 21 states that, "...even though they knew God, they did not honor him (our first reason) or "...give thanks.." (our second reason)! Giving thanks to our God, Jesus our Savior and the Holy Spirit's empowering love seems to be the one response we more easily forget about. Consider the ten lepers that Jesus healed. They all loved Jesus' miracle given to them for healing on their behalf and ran off overjoyed, but only one came back to thank him. (Lk. 17:12ff) How quickly we forget. And I think it is significant that the one who returned "...giving God glory and fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving thanks to him..." was a Samaritan. Here is a man who knew his need for healing, but also his need for Jesus! Jesus himself declared that his faith has made him well. But may I suggest that perhaps this doesn't just mean his Leprosy, but that also, this man's grateful faith in the power of the Spirit, sent by Jesus to heal, bringing glory to God, brought spiritual healing to this man, the one whose "poor in spirit" humble brokenness and gratitude brought him so much more than just good health. This is how I want to be. I so want to respond as a grateful person, as one that runs back to the feet of Jesus declaring my thanks for all he has done and continues to do in my life and that without him I would be nothing. Thanks for your helpful reminder too Greg. Happy Thanksgiving too.
ReplyDeleteGreg, Long term, real friends are a great treasure. I have learnt to thank God for the gifts of precious relationships in my life. I always ask God to help me never lose sight of how much I need these people and to help me never fail to show them how much I love and appreciate them. Greg, The worst kind of poverty is a poverty of relationships not of material thing. So many people do not lack material things and yet they are so lonely and very miserable. Apostle Paul, Nearly in all his epistles, Paul gave thanks for the people he loved. In Ephesians 1:16, he wrote; “I cease not to give thanks for you…….”. This means that when Paul thought of the Ephesian Church, wonderful feelings of thankfulness would well up in his heart for them.
ReplyDeleteI like the way Renner paraphrased Eph. 1:16. He wrote;
“Thanking God for you is so easy - it just flows out of my heart everytime I think of you. In fact, I never take a break from letting God know how I feel about you”.
Like you Pastor Greg, I am thankful for the relationships God has placed in my life. I am richly blessed with some of the best friends I could ever ask for. Thank you so much for such a moving blog and so filled with excellent nourishing content. Happy Thanksgiving.
Wilfred
Very wise words Wilfred...we do have a poverty of relationships. Thanks brother!
DeleteA hearty amen Greg! I particularly liked the point about bragging on others and also sharing good things publicly. We recently had a Thanksgiving chapel at our school. It was really encouraging to hear the staff and students share things for which they were thankful. Many of the testimonies were quite deep and evidently heartfelt. We literally ran out of time which was the first time that had happened since we started doing the chapel each year. Many of the testimonies were students "bragging on" and lifting up other students or people in their lives. I noticed not only my heart but other hearts being warmed and encouraged as people publicly shared good things about each other! Thanks Greg for your writing and also for being a quality man who loves God and shares that love with others!
ReplyDeleteThanks Noel! I am glad you had such a great time of gratitude sharing down at your school! Imagine if we spent as much time bragging on others as we do complaining about them...
DeleteGreg, I appreciate your thoughts here, especially because I know you do your best to live them out. This is certainly one case in which the messenger is the message... at least to those who are paying attention! We either embody a sense of gratitude for our lives and God's role in shaping us or we don't. I think your point about praying for people rather than simply praying for people to change is a strong one. There are certain circles of prayer in my city that I have a hard time participating in because they are certainly caught up in the "take back the country for Jesus" crowd. Presumably, they are working from the miracle motif that if everyone gets saved then we'll all live happily ever after! I need the admonition myself to check my ego at the door and pray for someone's betterment, even if that might not be how I feel toward them. Thanks, brother! Chris.
ReplyDeleteThanks Chris! I appreciate the comments. I confess that there are some prayers that make me uncomfortable as well since praying "in Jesus name" means praying the way Jesus would pray. I know that he didn't pray down the fire of God upon an unwelcoming Samaritan village like James and John wanted to do. He doesn't pray whiny self-focused prayers...nor demanding prayers. He prayed relationally, trustingly, thankfully... I only hope that we might do the same.
DeleteGreg, I feel like I’ve noticed little glimpses of what an excellent teacher you are in the past. But I became acutely aware of some of the pedagogy in this post that I want to commend as particularly effective, at least for me, at least tonight. Recasting the passage into a series of clearly stated imperative sentences makes for a very direct checklist for me to examine my own position of gratitude (or lack thereof, frankly, far too often). Struggling as I do with clarity, and often with encouragingly influencing my hearers with the actions implied by the passage being studied, I am thankful for the Lord helping me to recognize, in part, what makes this a particularly effective post for me. And I thank you, brother, for allowing yourself to be used, and honed to this purpose, by His influence in you, and through you into my ministry as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks Bill...that means a lot and is very encouraging!
DeleteWow, Greg. Just wow. Thanks on a number of levels. First for challenging us with the word "incite." It is exactly what Paul is doing - inciting their motivations to reach higher. Second, thanks for encouraging us to resist the attitude so prevalent in the western church that "it is bad and getting badder." That itself is a kind of know-it-all cockiness that elevates the cynic as the man of wisdom, when actually he is nothing more than an armchair critic. Finally, thanks for eight ways to be "inciteful!"
ReplyDelete