Read: Colossians 3:15-17
If someone said, “A, B, C, D,” could you recite the rest? Probably. We’ve known the alphabet since we were little. It’s the foundation for your ability to read this right now. But a teacher saying it once would not have been enough to cement it in our brains. It required repetition, over and over, and that allowed us to build words, sentences, and complex ideas.
What command is repeated in these verses? Why does the writer, Paul, who helped spread the Gospel to the early church, repeatedly tell the Colossians and us to give thanks? Isn’t once enough? Just like the alphabet is the foundation for reading and writing, giving thanks is foundational to our lives as followers of Jesus. Of all the blessings we have, the love and grace of God is what sets us apart from the rest of the world. Other people have wealth, health, and joy.
But only through a relationship with Jesus can we have peace and the promise of eternity with God. This is what we seek to share with those who don’t yet believe. But just as we need to know the ABCs before we can read a page, we need to give thanks for what God has done before we can share it with others.