COLEMAN: Giving thanks

By Landon Coleman

Pastor, Immanuel

The temperatures dropped in West Texas this week, and the calendar officially rolled over to fall. While we cheered 50 degree mornings, some of us began to think about holidays like Thanksgiving. In our mouth-watering anticipation, most of us likely missed “World Gratitude Day” on Tuesday, Sept. 21.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t know “World Gratitude Day” was a thing until I heard it referenced on my favorite sports podcast. A quick Google search on Wednesday morning informed me that I had in fact missed this global opportunity to be a grateful person. To say I was distraught would be a great exaggeration.

If you’re like me, you probably think our calendar has been filled with too many “days.” For example, today, Sept. 25 is recognized as Fish Amnesty Day, International Lace Day, Math Storytelling Day, National Bunny Day, National Ghost Hunting Day, and National One-Hit Wonder Day … someone cue Bobby “Boris” Picket and the Crypt-Kickers and tell them we’re almost ready for “Monster Mash” to play non-stop in October.

While I think we have way too many official and national “days,” I also don’t mind another day being devoted to gratitude. I know one of our biggest holidays is Thanksgiving, but we all know the notion of giving thanks one day a year is preposterous. If we need more official “days” to remind us to be grateful and thankful, I’m all in.

“World Gratitude Day” isn’t the only reason I’ve been thinking about gratitude and thankfulness this month. At my church, Immanuel Baptist, we’ve just started a Sunday morning sermon series on the book of Colossians. The first two weeks we talked about thankfulness.

In Colossians 1:3, Paul gave thanks for the Christians in Colossae because they had faith in Jesus and hope in heaven. In Colossians 1:12, Paul encouraged the Christians in Colossae to give thanks because the Father had qualified them to share in a heavenly inheritance through the death of Jesus.

Surely the list of things for which we should be grateful and thankful is a long list. We live in a uniquely prosperous country. We are blessed with first-class medical professionals and first responders, all of whom have gone over and above in the last 18 months. We enjoy remarkable religious liberty as Americans and Texans, liberty that is the envy of many in the world.

There is no doubt that we ought to be grateful, thankful people. However, the Christian has an even greater reason to show gratitude and to give thanks. That reason is “the word of truth, the gospel.” (Colossians 1:5) Because of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, sinful people like you and me can have hope in heaven.

Left to ourselves we are dead in our sins, and we are not qualified to receive a heavenly inheritance. However, the good news of the gospel is that sinful people can receive hope in heaven and a heavenly inheritance because of what Christ has done on our behalf. For all that, the Christian ought to show gratitude and give thanks everyday of the year.