Our outlook determines our outcome. With the right perspective,
we can expect to live rightly. With the wrong perspective, we can
expect all sorts of troubles. So what is a right perspective on
life? This past
Sunday we went to Colossians 1 for an answer to that. Paul in
this passage gives us an overview of four perspectives that are
critical to us to living rightly: a thankful perspective; an
eternal perspective; a Gospel perspective; and a holy perspective.
This week we looked specifically at the thankful perspective.
A thankful perspective causes us to recognize how ultimately we
are to thank God for all things. He has qualified us to have an
inheritance in His kingdom-part of that inheritance are all the
blessings that we graciously receive and become the basis of our
thankfulness. As we recognize more and more of God's hand in our
lives, our thanks will begin to overflow like a creek overflowing
its banks. But unlike an overflowing creek, our overflowing
thankfulness is not destructive.rather it brings peace between us
and God as well as us and others. This causes us to be watchful for
what God is doing and to offer to Him thanks through prayer.
And as we act in accordance with God we will find that we not
only are thankful towards God, but that we are thankful towards
others. That's what Paul says in 1:3-4-he is thankful first and
foremost to God because all ultimate thanks rests in Him-but Paul
is also thankful for the Colossians and specifically for their
faith and love.
A thankful perspective also causes us to thank others. Paul
specifically thanked the Colossians for their faith in Christ and
love for others which gave him great hope and encouragement.
This perspective of thankfulness is a lost art amongst
Christians. It's EASY to figure out what's wrong. Scripture tells
us over and over again that we live in a world where things are
broken, where things aren't the way they are supposed to be. We
should expect that things are wrong. But when we find something to
be thankful for-it is something to be celebrated when despite the
brokenness and things not being the way they are supposed to be
that we are still able to see the hand of God at work. Are you
characterized as a person who is thankful for the good things you
see happening in the lives of others and-ultimately-done through
the power of God?
You see a thankful perspective will change our attitudes.
Without a thankful perspective we will become prideful thinking
either too much or too little of ourselves. When we have a thankful
perspective we will become humble-we will come to see ourselves as
we truly are. Without a thankful perspective we will become
self-reliant-autonomous-thinking that in some way we really don't
need anyone other than ourselves. When we have a thankful
perspective we will be dependent because we will realize that we
can't possibly live life on our own. Without a thankful
perspective, we will end our lives in a morose grief-saddened that
nothing has turned out the way we had anticipated. When we have a
thankful perspective we will have joy because we recognize our
lives overflowing with the blessings of God. Without a thankful
perspective we will become self-focused and ultimately empty
because we are always focused on what God isn't doing instead of
what God is doing. A thankful perspective will focus us on how God
is using people to transform and renew our lives, our church, and
our world.
What are you thankful for?