God's Thankful People

Scripture Reading: Colossian 1:1-14

A mother and her little girl were shopping for fun in a big mall, and they were in the women’s section of a department store, trying on clothes. The mother was being helped by a sales woman and, while they were trying on things, the saleswoman gave the girl a stick of gum. So, the mother prompted her daughter, “Now honey, what do you say?” And the little girl looked up with a smile, and said, “Charge it!”

We don’t always know how or when to say, “Thank You!”

Now Paul was almost always thankful. Even when he had good reason to be angry or frustrated, even when he was in a dungeon and could be tried and sentenced to death. This was because of someone he wanted to be thankful for. Sometimes it is as if Paul said, “God loves you so much, and I love you too. God has given you so much, and done so much through you. What can I say to keep you going, and growing?”

Paul had a love that always wanted to give thanks. He always wanted to give thanks for other people, and for the Lord’s presence and gifts in their lives.

So, Paul (as he sits in the filth and darkness of his dungeon) writes, in his letter to the congregation in Colossae, to friends he has never actually met, but only heard of. Paul says, “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love you have for all the saints/ God’s-people) --- the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel/good-news that has come to you.” (Colossians 1:3-6)

Think about this. Paul, in the stench of a stone-lined hole in the ground, was happy because he was thankful. Paul was thankful because someone else got the same thing he had gotten from Jesus. Someone else had confidence in the same Lord who was helping him even now. Someone else was learning to love others because Jesus loved them. Someone else had hope because they knew that Jesus was the face of a God who would do absolutely everything for them that they needed, and so much more.

Paul was thankful because he realized that he lived in a world where God was at work in others. He was happy because others were happy: blessed by God.

This is an important part of thanksgiving: to see God at work in others, to see God at work in people all over the earth. This is the fun of being part of a wedding, or a baptism. This is what makes it fun to do things with kids. But it is more than fun. There is a deeper pleasure in this. And not because you are being entertained, but because you see something of great value.

You see a husband or a wife who is patient with their spouse without treating their spouse as a child, but with respect and tenderness, because the Lord’s love has taught them what real love is. You have friends whom you know are deeply praying to be good parents. You hear the wisdom of the old as they talk about life, and death, and heaven. You watch friends and neighbors working and playing together to make a community, or a church. You learn the stories about how the Lord became a reality to the people around you. Thanksgiving is what you want to do when you see the gifts and treasures of God in the hearts of others.

The archeologists who discovered the old Egyptian tomb of King Tut (the Pharaoh Tutankhamen), when they made their way down the underground passage, and broke a small hole through the wall that blocked the way into the tomb. At first the hole was just large enough for one of the men to squeeze his arms and head and shoulders through, with a lighted lantern in his hand.

As he did this, in the lamplight, he saw the dusty gleam of gold and the glitter of precious stones. He must have also, somehow, seen the thousands of years between them, and the sight made him speechless. He froze at the sight of this; as silent as the grave. Those standing outsaid wondered what was going on with him. They kept saying, “What is it? Do you see anything? Do you SEE ANYTHING!!”

Finally, he got his voice back. He gasped his answer: “YES! Yes! Wonderful things!”

Thanksgiving comes from being a witness of wonderful things.

In Eastern religions, the truth is within you, and always was within you. It is NOT a gift. It has always belonged to you, just as everything is a part of you, and you a part of everything.

But, in the gospel, in the good news of Jesus Christ, everything is a gift. You yourself are a gift. When you are a Christian, you are not thankful for what is only yours alone; you are thankful for so many gifts beyond you.

God himself is a gift. God doesn’t belong to you, even though you love him as your own.

God is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God gave himself to us as a God of an almost scary, radical, sacrificial love. God’s love either goes too far to seem believable, or else he goes so far that you can’t come without God himself, in Jesus, carrying you to himself; and you can’t come to him without being changed. And this is his gift.

And you, yourself, are a gift. “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.” (Colossians 1:13) The Lord’s whole purpose is to bring you home, as a gift for himself, a gift shared by the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

You are the product of a daring rescue. It is a rescue that takes you from darkness to light. And part of the light is to see yourself surrounded by gifts. You see yourself surrounded by a sort of “Gift-Love”: The Gift-Love of God.

God’s light is our understanding God’s grace, God’s transforming love, in all its truth, in all its beauty.

Because grace is such a great thing, its truth is hard to grasp. It is hard to believe in such an extravagant, unconditional love. But this is really the secret of the Christian life. It’s this big gift, this big love, that enables us to live in this world with a truly big faith, love, and hope in return.

There’s a story about a tourist in a famous museum in an old city. He saw another man standing in front of one of those famous abstract paintings that are so full of bright colors and strange shapes. The man just stood there looking, and looking, and not moving on.

That other man was almost making a spectacle of himself. So, the tourist decided to give it a try on his own. He stood beside the other man and looked, and looked, and looked at what was spoken of as a great masterpiece. Finally, he made a wisecrack: “I don’t see anything in that!” And the man who had stood there for so long whispered to him: “Don’t you wish you could?” (Maxie Dunnam, “The Communicator’s Commentary, vol. 8, p. 342f)

Let’s pray to see the wonderful things of the Lord around us in other people, and in the creation, and in our own lives. Let’s pray to see those wonderful things of the Lord, so that we can be God’s thankful people.

A mother and her little girl were shopping for fun in a big mall, and they were in the women’s section of a department store, trying on clothes. The mother was being helped by a sales woman and, while they were trying on things, the saleswoman gave the girl a stick of gum. So, the mother prompted her daughter, “Now honey, what do you say?” And the little girl looked up with a smile, and said, “Charge it!”

We don’t always know how or when to say, “Thank You!”

Now Paul was almost always thankful. Even when he had good reason to be angry or frustrated, even when he was in a dungeon and could be tried and sentenced to death. This was because of someone he wanted to be thankful for. Sometimes it is as if Paul said, “God loves you so much, and I love you too. God has given you so much, and done so much through you. What can I say to keep you going, and growing?”

Paul had a love that always wanted to give thanks. He always wanted to give thanks for other people, and for the Lord’s presence and gifts in their lives.

So, Paul (as he sits in the filth and darkness of his dungeon) writes, in his letter to the congregation in Colossae, to friends he has never actually met, but only heard of. Paul says, “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because

we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love you have for all the saints/ God’s-people) --- the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel/good-news that has come to you.” (Colossians 1:3-6)

Think about this. Paul, in the stench of a stone-lined hole in the ground, was happy because he was thankful. Paul was thankful because someone else got the same thing he had gotten from Jesus. Someone else had confidence in the same Lord who was helping him even now. Someone else was learning to love others because Jesus loved them. Someone else had hope because they knew that Jesus was the face of a God who would do absolutely everything for them that they needed, and so much more.

Paul was thankful because he realized that he lived in a world where God was at work in others. He was happy because others were happy: blessed by God.

This is an important part of thanksgiving: to see God at work in others, to see God at work in people all over the earth. This is the fun of being part of a wedding, or a baptism. This is what makes it fun to do things with kids. But it is more than fun. There is a deeper pleasure in this. And not because you are being entertained, but because you see something of great value.

You see a husband or a wife who is patient with their spouse without treating their spouse as a child, but with respect and tenderness, because the Lord’s love has taught them what real love is. You have friends whom you know are deeply praying to be good parents. You hear the wisdom of the old as they talk about life, and death, and heaven. You watch friends and neighbors working and playing together to make a community, or a church. You learn the stories about how the Lord became a reality to the people around you. Thanksgiving is what you want to do when you see the gifts and treasures of God in the hearts of others.

The archeologists who discovered the old Egyptian tomb of King Tut (the Pharaoh Tutankhamen), when they made their way down the underground passage, and broke a small hole through the wall that blocked the way into the tomb. At first the hole was just large enough for one of the men to squeeze his arms and head and shoulders through, with a lighted lantern in his hand.

As he did this, in the lamplight, he saw the dusty gleam of gold and the glitter of precious stones. He must have also, somehow, seen the thousands of years between them, and the sight made him speechless. He froze at the sight of this; as silent as the grave. Those standing outsaid wondered what was going on with him. They kept saying, “What is it? Do you see anything? Do you SEE ANYTHING!!”

Finally, he got his voice back. He gasped his answer: “YES! Yes! Wonderful things!”

Thanksgiving comes from being a witness of wonderful things.

In Eastern religions, the truth is within you, and always was within you. It is NOT a gift. It has always belonged to you, just as everything is a part of you, and you a part of everything.

But, in the gospel, in the good news of Jesus Christ, everything is a gift. You yourself are a gift. When you are a Christian, you are not thankful for what is only yours alone; you are thankful for so many gifts beyond you.

God himself is a gift. God doesn’t belong to you, even though you love him as your own.

God is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God gave himself to us as a God of an almost scary, radical, sacrificial love. God’s love either goes too far to seem believable, or else he goes so far that you can’t come without God himself, in Jesus, carrying you to himself; and you can’t come to him without being changed. And this is his gift.

And you, yourself, are a gift. “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.” (Colossians 1:13) The Lord’s whole purpose is to bring you home, as a gift for himself, a gift shared by the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

You are the product of a daring rescue. It is a rescue that takes you from darkness to light. And part of the light is to see yourself surrounded by gifts. You see yourself surrounded by a sort of “Gift-Love”: The Gift-Love of God.

God’s light is our understanding God’s grace, God’s transforming love, in all its truth, in all its beauty.

Because grace is such a great thing, its truth is hard to grasp. It is hard to believe in such an extravagant, unconditional love. But this is really the secret of the Christian life. It’s this big gift, this big love, that enables us to live in this world with a truly big faith, love, and hope in return.

There’s a story about a tourist in a famous museum in an old city. He saw another man standing in front of one of those famous abstract paintings that are so full of bright colors and strange shapes. The man just stood there looking, and looking, and not moving on.

That other man was almost making a spectacle of himself. So, the tourist decided to give it a try on his own. He stood beside the other man and looked, and looked, and looked at what was spoken of as a great masterpiece. Finally, he made a wisecrack: “I don’t see anything in that!” And the man who had stood there for so long whispered to him: “Don’t you wish you could?” (Maxie Dunnam, “The Communicator’s Commentary, vol. 8, p. 342f)

Let’s pray to see the wonderful things of the Lord around us in other people, and in the creation, and in our own lives. Let’s pray to see those wonderful things of the Lord, so that we can be God’s thankful people.