Gratitude provides context for us to be able to give thanks in all circumstances, including through very challenging times, and to experience God working for the good in all things even when we are feeling down and defeated. Gratitude prepares our hearts for spiritual formation and giving thanks to God for how He has worked in the past helps us to pray faithful prayers. Gratitude underpins loving united communities and connects us with God and one another in our meetings of the body. We will overflow with gratitude if we are rooted and built up in Christ. We should give thanks to God for His family and for our rescue into the Kingdom of His son. In his letter to the Colossian church, Paul mentions giving thanks or being grateful seven times. It has been said that love is the main marker of Christianity, but it is closely followed by gratitude. These two themes are intertwined - if you are rooted in the Christ who is above all things, writes Paul, then your life is characterized by gratitude. The main theme in Colossians is the supremacy of Jesus, and a secondary theme is thanksgiving. To stay on it we must keep our eyes fixed on him and remember the joy of eternal life that lies ahead, and to live that life even now, in the present age. The path that he has cut for us is the way of the cross. To resist the temptation to give up, we need to stay focused on Jesus, the pioneer who has gone before us.
He is our high priest who made a once and for all sacrifice on the cross. Jesus pioneered the way to the Father and life in His family, by becoming fully human and taking the suffering, sin and evil of the world upon himself. This path is a narrow and difficult one, but it’s the only way out. Jesus is the pioneer who cut a path for us to provide a way out. Our world of troubles, pain and death is like a jungle that we are trapped in with no hope of finding our own way out. The author of Hebrews reminds them of who Jesus is and what he endured to provide a wayĪ pioneer is one who creates a path through unknown territory to help others coming behind stay safe and on track. They were tempted to compromise their faith, and some were leaving the church to go back to their previous lives. The letter of Hebrews was written to Christians who were going through very challenging times.
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