Day Three

Read Colossians 3:12-17; Study 15-17

Reading this passage convicted me of complaining. I dislike the sound of whining – whether it is my children or my previous neighbors or people on Facebook. I am disgusted by it. Unfortunately, I do it too often. The other day, I caught myself writing an email, the only purpose of which was to gripe about my poor life. I deleted the email, but not the self-pity and complaints in my heart.

I know that I am worse at complaining when I haven’t gotten enough sleep or I feel that people aren’t listening to me or I am overwhelmed with what I have to do, but those things aren’t good excuses. The passage puts things into perspective.

15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. 

See how many times being thankful is mentioned? And every time it is linked with Christ and who he is or what he has done for us – the peace of Christ, the message of Christ, the name of the Lord Jesus. He loved us so much that he came to live a perfect life for us, die in our place, and rise again so that we can live new lives in him. He is the root of thankfulness and sharing him is part of the purpose of thankfulness!

As a side note, the idea of being one body, united in thankfulness to Christ fascinates me. The truths surrounding what atonement and salvation and our connection with God is often so divisive. But if we can step away from making sure that we all believe the same thing, we can unite with others in thankfulness to Christ for what he has done, no matter what pictures we use to help us understand it. (I am not saying that it doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you believe something; but I think sometimes we get so caught up in getting our “theological ducks” in a row, that we loose the unity of the Gospel – that we are all sinners who need to be saved by grace.)

When I focus on how much Jesus endured to show me how much he loved me, and when I remember how much he wants me to be with him and to be like him, then complaining seems pretty petty. My poor life seems rather abundant. And my heart is filled with thankfulness.