Colossians 3:15 is one of my favorite verses. Where I first found it meaningful was in seeking God's will and direction in life. The peace of God is a valuable guide. This verse says, "let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts...." The word "rule" here is like an umpire in athletic games. It isn't rule as king. Rather, it is the one who lets you know if you're in bounds or out, following the rules, making the right kinds of plays, etc. As an umpire, the peace of Christ is a valuable resource for staying on the right track. No peace? Probably not the right choice.
This was one of those verses I mentioned where the idea of giving thanks seemed to be almost randomly thrown in. But it was also one of the first that made me realize that was not the case. Thanksgiving was the thread that tied all the lessons I was learning as a Christian into a unified whole, and not a unrelated pile of random spiritual truths. There was more to the idea of giving thanks than I realized. The verse goes on: "...to which you were called in one body, and be thankful." The "be thankful" part wasn't too hard to see. It's easy to be thankful when you have His peace. It's easy to be thankful when His peace is assuring you that you're making the right choice. It was the middle part of the verse that threw me.
As a body, we as Christians, the Church, are called to the peace of Christ. That seems easy enough, but I always felt like there was more to it. The next two verses, 16 and 17, also mention being thankful, but I saw them, and heard them taught by others as well, as three distinct items on a list. Verse 16 talks about teaching and admonishing one another. One another, our fellow believers, the Church, is taught and reminded of the Lord by our singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with thanksgiving in our hearts. That, in effect, is what started me on this journey to understanding thanksgiving, though I didn't realize it at the time. I was in church one Sunday soon after graduating high school, planning to go to college and prepare to be a missionary. I looked around as we were singing hymns, and saw faces that looked blanked and bored, routinely mouthing the old familiar words without thought to their meaning, and no expression of joy or thankfulness at all. At that moment, I felt God speak to my heart that He didn't want me in foreign missions, "I have plenty for you to do in this country." At least part of that is reminding the Church that whatever you do, in word or deed, do it giving thanks through Christ to God the Father. When you sing, sing with thanksgiving. When you do, it will admonish (put in mind) and teach one another of the truth that God is real. He exists. He is worthy of praise. He is worthy of our faith. He rewards those who seek Him. We truly have reason, as a body of believers, to rejoice and give thanks.
Thanksgiving brings peace. It protects us from sin. It's how we teach and admonish one another as the body of Christ. It makes our service acceptable.
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