Joyful Thankfulness

Posted by jerrywhite on Apr 19, 2010

“Christians joyfully give thanks to the Father. Thanksgiving, too, pleases Jesus Christ. Not to give thanks would be mute testimony to a catastrophic loss of perspective; to give thanks, to give thanks with joy, is to remember that the Father has ‘qualified [us] to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins’ (Colossians 1:12-14).
If God had perceived that our greatest need was economic, he would have sent an economist. If he had perceived that our greatest need was entertainment, he would have sent us a comedian or an artist. If God had perceived that our greatest need was political stability, he would have sent us a politician. If he had perceived that our greatest need was health, he would have sent us a doctor. But he perceived that our greatest need involved our sin, our alienation from him, our profound rebellion, our death; and he sent us a Savior.
What Paul is saying is that to live a life worthy of Jesus Christ is to overflow with joyful thanksgiving in the light of the salvation we have received at his hand. If we have been transferred out of the dominion of darkness and into the kingdom of the Son beloved by God, our only appropriate response is joyful gratitude.”
D. A. Carson
A Call To Spiritual Reformation, 109
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Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 (ESV)
Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 5:20 (ESV)
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Continual thanksgiving is vital for maintaining the fullness of the Holy Spirit.