Thankfulness

The virtues of a believer should be many and varied. "Faith, hope and love" are among the chart-toppers, and being that "the greatest of these is love," we can understand that it is right and proper for the believer to pursue love not only as an inward trait of their personality, but also as an evidenced approach to the way they live (1 Corinthians 13:13). It's importance cannot be under-emphasized among believers, but especially to those outside the faith because "By this all men will know that you are [Jesus'] disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:35).

Perhaps there is, on the other hand, an altogether understated virtue among others for the Christian: thankfulness. Believers are commanded to be virtuous, whether it is by being loving, faithful, obedient, or humble, to name a few. But I believe thankfulness is too often merely assumed to be a part of the Christian's life rather than a trait worth pursuing, equally as much as others, if not more. Agreeably, it would seem to benefit all believers to be thankful, but should such an assumption be based on intuition or rather intention?

"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 3:17). Whether we are working at the office, sharing our faith, eating, or sleeping, we are commanded to do it with thanksgiving. And by pursuing a heart of thanksgiving, we will more assuredly avoid the temptations of sin and the licentiousness of the world. As addicts to our vices, we may find greater success in our sobriety were we to enthrall our attention with the pursuit of virtue rather than to arrest our minds by an avoidance of fault. Overwhelmed with thankfulness, therefore, for having been blessed with "every spiritual blessing in Christ" we can further pursue holiness and faith: "Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving" (Ephesians 1:3, Colossians 2:6-7).

The following example comes from Luke 17:11-19:

Ten men who had leprosy...called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!" When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."

This former leper was aware of his uncleanliness, perpetually conscious of his state of exclusion from society. The Lord had enabled him to understand his need not only to be cleansed of his physical condition, but also to be made right with his Master. Upon being healed, the man, overcome with thankfulness, was driven back to his Lord so that he might bow down at the feet of Jesus and ever so profoundly utter the words "Thank you." It was in this act of faith, motivated through thanksgiving, that Jesus met the man's needs, healing him of his leprous state and, even more importantly, giving him a saving faith.

An actively growing faith in God, I would argue, is dependent on--or at the very least, co-existent with--an authentic practice of thanksgiving for the person of God and his continual provision. But, lest we fall into a works-based mode of sanctification, a wrong thinking that we might somehow muster enough thankfulness to grow ourselves in the Lord, we must duly note that thankfulness does not necessarily result in a closer walk with God. Faithful obedience is not manifest from our thankfulness alone, but rather through God's intervening grace, transforming our thankfulness into a closer walk with him. "But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted" (Romans 6:17). Rightly so, our thanks for our own obedience goes still to God alone.

Take for example the pharisee who, not recognizing his own sin, prayed aloud about himself inside the temple, thanking God that he was not like the other sinners, even particularly referencing a tax collector also present in the temple at the time (Luke 18:9-14). Although demonstrating a sort of thankfulness (however unaccompanied by faith), this pharisee did not see his need for the Lord; rather, the lowly tax collector saw his need for a saving God, and left that day equipped with thanksgiving in his heart--a gifted virtue that enables many to "worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our 'God is a consuming fire'" (Hebrews 12:28-29).