It is very interesting to note the various contexts in which the word “thanksgiving” occurs in the Bible (NKJV). Here are just a few of the places:
• In Lev. 7:11-15, it is connected with offerings and sacrifices to God.
• In Psa. 26, it is connected with the proclaiming of God and His “wondrous works.”
• In Psa. 95, it is connected with a joyful attitude due to God’s salvation.
• In Psa. 147, it is in connection with honoring God’s goodness and constant blessings.
• In 2 Cor. 9:10-12, it is in connection with helping those who are in need.
• In Col. 4:2, it is in connection with continued prayers.
• In 1 Tim. 4:3-4, it is in connection with our meals.
So in examining these texts, we see that thanksgiving is not something separated from the everyday life of the child of God. It is to be an integral part of our daily lives. It is a way of living – true thanksgiving is “thanksliving”!
Christians have so much for which to be thankful, and daily we should live and give
our thanks to God.
“As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving” (Col. 2:6-7).
Edd Sterchi
Broadway church of Christ
Campbellsville, KY