The Biblical meaning of the word “thanksgiving” is not something you do. It is not something that is spontaneous, or an extemporaneous expression of thanks for some good deed done, or good that that has come our way. The biblical concept of the word “thanksgiving” does not depend on something one has or has received. This word has nothing to do with “outward” circumstances, but rather, has to do with one’s spiritual attitude toward life. Paul declared, in Philippians 4:11, “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” Thanksgiving is a learning process. It is allowing the Holy Spirit to place within us contentment – or a real praise of thanksgiving to God for everything in one’s life. Biblical thanksgiving is not what one does, but rather it is what one is – what one has become as a result of absolute and complete trust in Christ Jesus. It is the “spirit” in which one accepts “all things.” Our problem often is that we have in mind what a word means – our definition of the word – and, it is almost impossible for us to divorce that word from the meaning we have given it. The Biblical meaning of the word “thanksgiving” is not something someone does, but rather it is, because Jesus lives within us, a life of thanksgiving becomes a daily expression of His life. This is not self-improvement. No! It is God manifesting His life through us.
No comments:
Post a Comment