There's Grace in Thanksgiving

Thankfulness is a core virtue in Christianity and an important attitude of heart. Of all people, as believers, we have so much to be grateful for.

Colossians 3:15-17 (ESV) states, “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 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. 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.”

Paul reminds the Colossian believers three times in three verses to be thankful. Why? Perhaps they, like we, also struggled with forgetfulness. Maybe they took their blessings for granted. You see, we can only experience true gratitude when we’re re-sensitized to our undeserved blessings from God.

But there’s more. 

In the English language we can easily miss some of the subtle nuances present in the Koiné Greek in which the New Testament was originally penned. In the original language, the word for “grace” (charis) is literally located in the middle of the word for “thanksgiving” (eucharistos). Now that's food for thought! We can catch a glimpse of this reality in our word “grateful” that sounds a lot like “graceful.”

Grace is central to gratitude or thankfulness. It’s embedded in the very notion of thanksgiving. Therefore, God’s graciousness ought to be reflected in our gratefulness.

Happy Thanksgiving!