Dear Disciple,
“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
“Overflowing with thankfulness”. Wow, what a beautiful picture of how our lives can be as we continue to live our lives in Him. It’s Thanksgiving Day, and what better way to express what this day is set aside to demonstrate: we are overflowing with thankfulness to our God and Father through Jesus our Master.
Abundance is, for most, a big part of the Thanksgiving Day celebration. One word that captures this fact is “leftovers”. The word translated “overflowing” in the verse above is the Greek word that speaks of something that is in excess of what is necessary or expected. It’s more than enough and abundant. Isn’t that the picture of most Thanksgiving meals? How many meals can be made out of the abundance of leftovers in the days following the holiday? Disciple, everything in our lives can be a parable of the great Kingdom reality we live in with our Master and each other! When others see leftovers, they simply see food. When we see leftovers, we can see a parable of the abundance of God’s generosity to us and our abundance of thankfulness to Him!
Let us be generous in our gratitude today and every day. Let us not just think thanks or feel thanks; let us give thanks generously. Let us express to others and to God how aware we are of the innumerable good things we receive that simply aren’t owed to us. Let us be extravagant in acknowledging the gifts that have been extravagantly poured out on us.
Did you know that the Greek word that is typically translated as “grace” or “gift” throughout our New Testament is also translated “thanks” or “gratitude”? The same word describes the cause and the effect of a gift given. You are called to live your life in the full awareness that Jesus is Lord, and that means learning to be generous as He is. We are meant to give of what we have in order to love others and do what is best for them. That is living a life of grace. We are also meant to live lives of humble gratitude, and this is living a life of grace.
If you and I can live lives of grace in both gift-giving and thanksgiving, Disciple, it can truly be said of us that we are a people of abundant grace. And isn’t that what the Kingdom of God is? It is a place and a culture of cups that run over with God’s generous provision (Psalm 23:5), which is why we know we do not and will not lack anything we need (Psalm 23:1). We get to be a part of that Kingdom now and forever because of our Father’s love and our Master’s kindness. Now that’s something for which we can be abundantly thankful!
Overflowing with thanks amidst an overflow of blessing,
Ryan