What Does Thanksgiving Have To Do With Our Faith?

In Colossians 2:6-7 Paul writes:

English Standard Version Chapter 2

6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

I was struck by that last phrase, “abounding in thanksgiving”. What does thanksgiving have to do with a faithful walk in Christ?

First of all, we are prone to forget what God has done for us. That forgetfulness often leads to a sense of entitlement and pride. We find ourselves saying, “I don’t deserve this.” Or “I just need this right now.” Forgetfulness or thanklessness ultimately leads to idolatry, to believing that something or someone else is going to give us more than God can give us. Lack of thankfulness is dangerous for our faith. So we must never forget. We must abound, that is overflow, with thanksgiving.

Paul’s letters are full of testimonies of his own life, how he was turned from a persecutor and hater of Jesus, to a minister of his Gospel. And he constantly reminds his disciples of who they were before Christ in order to stir up gratitude and worship, just like he does in 1:12-14:

English Standard Version Chapter 1

12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

I believe Paul consistently tries to stir up thanksgiving like this because he believes that gratitude has keeping power for us.

This is why the Passover festival and other God-given festivals were established for Israel. This is why he has given us the Communion Table. These are for our remembrance, in order to stir gratitude. They are means of grace to help us continue in the faith. Likewise, the Thanksgiving holiday and Advent season can serve to stir our gratitude for all that God has done for us, which ultimately helps stabilize and establish our faith.

This is what Paul is after in calling for us to abound in thanksgiving. He wants our faith to be stable and steadfast.

Gratitude is to faith like rebar is to concrete. Gratitude is to faith like concrete hardener is to a bunch of sand, stone, and water. Without the concrete hardening agents, the substance may be somewhat firm when dry, but with it, it is unshakable. Without the rebar, it is solid, but with it, you’ll need jack hammers and large machinery to do much of anything to it.

So, brothers and sisters, because of all He’s done for us, lets abound in thanksgiving this season. The alternative is forgetfulness, leading to entitlement, pride, and ultimately, idolatry.