…giving thanks through him…
What does thankfulness have to do with “Dead to Me”?
Practicing the “dead to me” philosophy, with the destructive behaviors described in Part 1 of this blog series, creates a domino effect. The “dead to me” domino tips the “knowing your Creator” domino, described in Part 2, when we intentionally replace the space once occupied with damaging thoughts and behaviors with the knowledge of our Creator.
What does the “knowing your Creator” domino tip?
In Colossians chapter 3, Paul challenges the church to turn their minds to know their Creator; in doing so, a domino of thankfulness seems to be next in line.
“…And be thankful…and with gratitude in your hearts sing…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, 16, 17, NRSV, bold added).
“Dead to me” = Domino 1 (Colossians 3: 2, 5, 7-9)
“Knowledge of our Creator” = Domino 2 (Colossians 3: 2-4, 10)
“Thankfulness” = Domino 3 (Colossians 3: 15-17)
The more we grow in our knowledge of who God is, our heart’s natural response will be gratitude.
Again, each domino can tip to the other, causing a transformational ripple effect in our lives. Each domino, however, can only fall and influence the next when our mind and heart unite with intentionality. (Colossians 3:2)
When we make a conscious effort to put destructive behaviors and mindsets to death, space is made for us to choose to grow in our knowledge of our Creator. Even though a better understanding of who God is will prompt gratefulness, Paul’s words incite us to choose gratitude.
Purposefully being thankful in the “dead to me” process has the power to reverse the domino effect. We choose thankfulness by looking for God’s activity on our part, for His goodness despite what we may see, and for His faithfulness as we believe He will act on our behalf. We thank Him out of our confidence in Him.
Our gratefulness can become the first domino that inspires the strengthening of our faith in God, resulting in successfully living out a “dead to me” philosophy of those things that no longer need to be a part of our lives.
In verse 15, thankfulness is added at the end like an additional rule or as an apparent response, “and be thankful.” In verse 16, thankfulness is used as a posture of the heart while singing God’s praises, encouraging one another, or teaching His Word. “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.” (ESV, bold added)
Verse 17, however, reflects a power source for thankfulness. Our ability to choose gratitude in all situations will be driven by Christ in us. “And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.” (NLT, bold added)
Christ, himself, will help us with this posture of gratitude which emboldens our capabilities to “put to death whatever belongs to our earthly nature” (Colossians 3:5, NIV). If we struggle with putting areas of our life to death or with our understanding of God, we need to pick up the domino of thankfulness and allow gratitude to be the moving force in these other two areas.
(I pray your eyes would be opened to God at work in and around you. May your heart’s posture always be bent towards gratitude, and that Christ empowers you to be thankful when you think it is impossible. I pray your thankfulness, matched with your growing knowledge of how incredible your Creator is, will put every struggle, temptation, or draw toward destructive behaviors to death. So be it in Jesus’ name.)
Meditate: I am thankful for…..
Reflect: What can you be thankful for today? Are there any areas of your life for which you struggle to be grateful? How can your knowledge of your Creator influence your ability to be thankful? – What is a specific example? How can you incorporate gratefulness more into your routine?
Deeper: Psalm 118:1-9, 19-29; Acts 2:43-47; 1 Thessalonians 5:18
This blog is a repost from November 2022.
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(Bible References: NRSV – New Revised Standard Version, NLT – New Living Translation, ESV – English Standard Version, NIV – New International Version)
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