Articles
“A Heart of Gratitude”
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.
Colossians 3:15-17
The following is George Herbert’s poetic prayer to God entitled “Gratefulness.”
Thou that hast giv’n so much to me, Give one thing more, a grateful heart. See how thy beggar works on thee By art. He makes thy gifts occasion more, And says, If he in this be crossed, All thou hast giv’n him heretofore Is lost. But thou didst reckon, when at first Thy word our hearts and hands did crave, What it would come to at the worst To save. Perpetual knockings at thy door, Tears sullying thy transparent rooms, Gift upon gift, much would have more, And comes. | This not withstanding, thou wentst on, And didst allow us all our noise: Nay thou hast made a sigh and groan Thy joys. Not that thou hast not still above Much better tunes, than groans can make; But that these country-airs thy love Did take. Wherefore I cry, and cry again; And in no quiet canst thou be, Till I a thankful heart obtain Of thee: Not thankful, when it pleaseth me; As if thy blessings had spare days: But such a heart, whose pulse may be Thy praise. |
The Elizabethan language can be difficult, but Herbert’s basic prayer is this: God has blessed him so much, but in order to fully appreciate all that God has done, he must give him one more vital gift—a grateful heart. Without a constant mindset of gratitude, a heart that “pulses” with God’s praises, God might as well have not given him anything to begin with. God knew we would be reliant on his gifts, petitioning him again and again, but it pleases him to hear our prayers because it provides him opportunities to our out his love to us. So Herbert resolves not to stop praying until he obtains that grateful heart.
We too must learn this lesson. When ancient Israel experienced success and blessing, instead of humbly giving thanks, they were inflated with pride. In their comfort they forgot God and slipped into rebellion, despite God’s warning before entering the promised land (see Deut. 8:11-18). In Colossians 3:15-17, Paul emphasizes gratitude with a triple repetition of “thanksgiving” words, clueing us in on three things to be grateful for.
Grateful unity (15) — When love binds us together in “one body” (Col. 3:14), we can allow the “peace of Christ” to “rule [our] hearts.” “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” (Psa. 133:1) How marvelous that Jesus brought such diverse people like us together “in one body” to cooperate in serving him and each other? We ought to “be thankful” for our spiritual unity because it is by no means an automatic thing. Christ had to die to create it (Eph. 2:13-14) and we must live to maintain it by exercising attitudes of humility and patience (Eph. 4:1-3). Be grateful for the fellowship we forgiven sinners share in Christ.
Grateful praise (16) — When we “let the word of Christ dwell in [us] richly,” we can offer praise to God that is both mutually encouraging (“teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom”) and acceptable to God (“with thankfulness in your hearts to God”). Worship without gratitude is not worship. If we find our minds wandering by the third verse of the hymn, we are not singing “in all wisdom.” That is, we lack mental discipline and must chasten ourselves to refocus (1 Cor. 14:15). We focus by allowing the “word of Christ” to take up residence within us, to be at home in our minds. We prepare to worship God with the church by filling our minds with the teachings and stories about our Lord. Then, filled with his word, we can offer worship “with thankfulness in [our] hearts to God.”
Grateful living (17) — Finally, Paul admonishes us to “do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.” To act in Jesus’ name means to act on his behalf. Acting in Christ’s “name” restricts us; it acts as a check on our behavior by getting us to ask ourselves, “Would Christ be pleased if I did this or that?” But acting in Christ’s “name” also encourages us; it acts as a motivation to persevere with difficult tasks that we undertake for him. We know that when we act “in his name”—doing his will—he will provide us with the necessary strength to carry the task out.
When Christ’s peace rules us, Christ’s word fills us and Christ’s name guides us, our hearts will truly be thankful for what we have in Christ. Then we are prepared to worship God and live grateful lives for him. God save us from cynicism, ingratitude and selfishness and give us thankful hearts.
