An attitude of heart 17th April 2008

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with one another and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him”. Colossians 3: 12- 17

And be thankful.

At a recent visit to a Buddhist Pagoda, I read an article about “counting your blessings”, which they recognised as a Christian saying. Their understanding of this practice was written something like this,
Don’t fret, be content
If you didn’t learn a lot today
At least you learnt a little;
If you didn’t learn a little
At least you weren’t sick;
If you were sick
At least you didn’t die.
This seemed such a negative way of looking at life, at the end of the day thinking “At least I didn’t die”! We have so much to be positively thankful for. Yes, we do wake up each morning but on top of that, each morning, the love of God comes to us afresh. Even when we’re at rock bottom there is usually so much more to be thankful for than the fact that we didn’t die! Our homes, friends, family, clothes and food; our bodies and abilities; music, art, beauty and creativity; the wind, the rain, the sunshine and snow; work, rest and relaxation; the list goes on and on and on; there’s so much we take for granted, so much we often moan about but so much to be thankful for.

In addition, we have the great and sure Christian hope that out of death God brings life; that out of pain and suffering God brings healing and joy; that in all things and out of all things God brings goodness and life. Now, that is something to be thankful for.

So let’s cultivate thankfulness today. You could write a thank you prayer or song. What about sending a thank you card or letter? Try remembering to say thankyou for all the little things others do for you today.

Give thanks with a grateful heart!