How do you see life? Are you a pessimist? Or an optimist? Is your glass half empty? Are you sure somebody’s gonna knock it over? Or is it half full? Are you expecting someone to swing by and top it off? Paul tells us here that when we step back and realize all that Jesus has done for us, we can’t help but be grateful. That means “giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (v20). Think of it this way. Take another look at that half-full glass. According to the Bible we don’t deserve the glass much less the water. Be thankful to God for all that you do have.
It’s an attitude of gratitude.
In one short verse, Paul gives us simple and direct instructions. The what, the when, the why and the who. The what: give thanks. The when: always. The why: for everything. The who: To God and Jesus. If I look back one verse, I see the how: with music (Eph 5:19). And because of the when (always) and the why (everything), the where is obvious. EVERYWHERE! Stop looking at what I don’t have. Start looking at what I do have.
It’s an attitude of gratitude.
This all centers around the Greek verb eucharisteo. It means to be thankful, express gratitude and recognize benefits and blessings. If you grew up in the Catholic church, this word probably looks pretty familiar. It’s where we get the Eucharist, the part of the mass where we express our thanks to God for Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. I find it very interesting that if you drill down in the original language, the term literally means to prosper due to grace. To lean into the blessing. When I start to realize that everything I truly need I already have in Christ, I am overwhelmed by thanksgiving. It’s not a one time moment. It’s not even an annual holiday of turkey, dressing and football (and I am VERY thankful for that!). It’s an outlook. It’s a lifestyle. It’s an attitude.
It’s an attitude of gratitude.
The apostle continually encourages Jesus’ followers to count their blessings. Check out just a few of the 41 times we find this word in the NT. “Give thanks (Gr. eucharisteo) in all circumstances” (1Th 5:18). Paul never stopped thanking God for his friends in Ephesus (Eph 1:16). He was incredibly grateful that Priscilla and Aquila stuck their necks out for him (Rom 16:4). We’re to pray to God with a thankful heart (Phil 4:6). And as we serve Jesus in everything we do, we’re to be a non-stop thanksgiving machine (Col 3:17).
In many ways, this is the point of the entire letter to the church at Ephesus. I need to step back and realize who God is and what He’s done for me. Be swept away by His “Tsunami of Blessings” (Eph 1:3-14). We can’t begin to wrap our brains around what God’s goodness. He handpicked us before creation. He pre-loved us. He adopted us. He redeemed us. He forgave us. He revealed His will to us in Jesus. He gave us a fabulous inheritance. He sealed us with His Spirit. This passage chapter one is one amazing run-on sentence in Greek. Paul gets going telling us about all that God has done for Jesus’ followers and he just can’t stop! He desperately wants us to be thankful.
It’s an attitude of gratitude.
The apostle then tells the Ephesians that he’s continually praying that God will throw their eyes open to everything they have in Jesus (Eph 1:18-20). The hope. The riches. The inheritance. The mind-blowing power that works in our favor. Part of our thankfulness is understanding where we would be without God’s blessings. We were literally the walking dead, stumbling around at Satan’s command (Eph 2:1-2). All we wanted was to satisfy our own wants and lusts while we shook our fists at heaven (Eph 2:3). We were the ultimate outsiders (Eph 2:11-12). Cut off from Christ. Aliens. Hopeless. Without God. Unless we realize where we were before Jesus, we can’t appreciate all that we have with Him. Life “BC,” was death. Before Christ, we had an attitude all right. A nasty ‘tude. Chew on that for just a minute.
It was at just that moment that we experienced divine intervention that Paul sums up in two simple words: “But God” (Eph 2:4-10). But God loved us. But God made us alive with Jesus. But God saved us with His descending one-way love called grace. But God raised us up with Jesus. But God sat us down right next to Christ in the heavenly seat of honor. And we didn’t do a stinkin’ thing to earn or deserve all of God’s goodness. “It is THE gift of God” (Eph 2:8, emphasis added). Paul continues to remind us of all the blessings we have in Jesus. And if that’s not all, God “is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, according to the power at work within us” (Eph 3:20). Remember the core of the Gospel. Jesus lived the perfect life that I completely failed to live. He died the brutal and bloody death for MY sin that I should have died. He rose to glorious new life that I absolutely do not deserve. Remember all that God has done. Realize that He’s going to do.
It’s an attitude of gratitude.
There’s a HUGE reason why Paul wants the folks in Ephesus to take this ‘tude. Just down the road in towns like Colossae, Hierapolis and Laodicea, a church-wrecking heresy is on the loose. A team of spiritual hucksters have duped Jesus’ followers into believing He’s good but not God. According to these goobers, the radical Rabbi/Carpenter might be able to get us into God’s kingdom but He can’t keep us there. The only way to ensure our salvation is to follow their complicated list of religious rules. After writing a letter correcting the Colossians, the apostle fires off another one to the Ephesians. He knows that once we understand the incredible blessings we already have in Jesus, we’ll explode in thanksgiving. We won’t buy the heretical snake oil these false teachers are peddling. We don’t need anything else. Everything we need we already have in Jesus. We’ll be grateful. We’ll be thankful.
It’s an attitude of gratitude.
This is the part where you jump in. What do you think? What are you grateful for? Drop a comment below and join the conversation.
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