Pastor's Corner; Rev. Tim Hauge

At Colossians 3:17 we read the words of the Apostle Paul, "whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

One aspect of this verse that strikes me as significant is how we are called upon to be thankful. In this season of remembering with gratitude our veterans of military service and our upcoming holiday of Thanksgiving, this idea of being thankful is in our hearts and minds. Hopefully all of us reflect and speak our thankfulness for kind things done for us and the good things that have come our way.

What Paul is holding before those early Christians in the city of Colossae (located in modern day Turkey) is to live every moment of their lives with a spirit and attitude of thankfulness to God. If you were to take that perspective and apply it to your daily life, how would you look at things before you differently?

Very many of you reading this short article enjoy a life and a lifestyle that is undeniably one of great blessings. We live in a land where we enjoy freedoms that other nations seem incapable of achieving, there are opportunities for us in this country that offer great promise to those who pursue them. The question for us is this, "do we truly live a life filled with thanksgiving or do we take it all for granted?"

Our veterans do not take the freedoms we enjoy in this nation for granted. They, of all people, know first-hand the painful truth that freedom is not free.

As we live before God we are not just invited, but also called to a life of thankfulness. In this way we may find that we are ready and willing to reach out to those in need. We may find that we are creative in our charity and volunteering in our community and church.

At the end of the day arguably the greatest result is that we find we are seeking more diligently the heart of God and His divine will for the living of our days in His grace for us through Jesus Christ. That is a "heart-set" that all of us are called to pursue and receive as a gift of God's grace for us in this life. In all our words, in all our deeds, we can with joy and peace that passes all understanding, give thanks in all things each and every day.