Colossians 1:12-14

These studies don’t measure whether or not that Father made mistakes, or did everything correctly, it just measures their being present and caring about their child.

Dad’s, give yourselves a break, you’re doing great just by being there and caring

1 reminder for the dad’s here and then we’ll move on – there is nothing going on in your life more important than your role as a Husband and Father. You may be the worlds most important lawyer, or doctor, or accountant, or farmer, or businessman, or teacher, or coach, none of that can compare to the weight of your home.

I remember when Naomi was born, the first time I had ever watched life coming to be, I was first struck with the weight that we had made a human, but then I was struck far more deeply and more heavily with the reality that there was now this new eternal soul that would exist forever, and God had entrusted her, and Alanus, and Jerry, and this one, to me as their father.

Your child is not primarily a student, not primarily an athlete, not primarily a musician, he or she is primarily a child of God, an eternal soul that was made to know Him and bow to Him, and everything else you are tending to as a man is far behind the task of cultivating that in them.

We said last week that the goal of this letter is in 1:28-29

Colossians, like us, were being challenged in their newfound Christian faith, and were wavering, were unsure, were allowing lies in – Paul says they must find maturity, they must set their anchor deeply into the Rock of Christ, so that amidst the waves of struggle and of the ever-changing culture, they may stay firm.

Last week we looked at the first 11 verses, and how the mature Christian talks to and treats other Christians (GRACE àGRACE), and at how the mature Christian prays

We also pointed out the prevalence already of Paul’s call for the Christian to be thankful. In his call to maturity, one of the things apparently most important to Paul and most characteristic of the mature Christian is one who is thankful.

1:3, 1:12, 2:7, 3:15-17, 4:2

This book, about the need for the Christian to be Mature, uses the word for thankfulness more than any other book of the New Testament besides 1 Corinthians, which uses it 1 more time and is 12 chapters longer.

It seems that one of the defining characteristics of the mature Christian is thankfulness. If I asked you to think about the 3 most mature and strong Christians you know, would you describe them as thankful? Of course!

You want to mature in Christ, start here . . . as Brother Wayne says: Christians have an attitude of gratitude.

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Isn’t it interesting that we don’t have to be told to complain, but we have to be told incessantly to be thankful. I am convinced the two commands I give to my children most often are stop whining, and say thank you. It is natural for us to complain, it is a natural part of our flesh; it is not natural to say thank you, THAT has to be taught, THAT has to be pounded into the heads of the little brats. “Hey kid, you’re 6, every single time over the past 72 months, WHENEVER someone has given you something or done something for you, I have said, “Say thank you,” WHY DO I STILL HAVE TO SAY IT? DON’T YOU GET HOW THIS WORKS?

Why is complaining so bothersome? Why is it draining to be around people that complain constantly, or are consistently negative? Why does it bother us when our children complain? What is it about complaining that is offensive to us when others do it, even though its so natural to us personally?

It seems to me that it is because complaining is the opposite of giving thanks, and at our very bottom, we are Created Beings, underneath the Great Creator, made to worship that Creator, and worship is nothing if it is not gratitude. Worship is a position of gratitude. The first responsibility of the creature is to recognize its creatureliness àgratitude.

It seems to me that when children whine, the parent is offended because the child SHOULD be grateful for what has been done for him or her by the parent, but whining proclaims ingratitude. Think of a child, 9 or 10 years old, at their birthday party, opening a present. The child opens it, pulls out the toy, and then throws it down, folds his arms, furrows his brow, and says I don’t want that dumb gift. (Smack) The child, when opening the present, doesn’t think about the trouble and thought that the adult or other child went to to go to the store, purchase that present with money they had worked for and could have spent on themselves, have it wrapped, and then attend the forsaken event that is a child’s birthday party, probably on a Saturday during the Bama game, just to be there for this brat and give them this gift. They are excited to give it to him, to see his face light up, that’ll make all of the effort worth it, or at least not as sickening. And then he does that. HOW CAN HE NOT BE THANKFUL! HOW CAN HE WHINE! It BOTHERS us!

To make it even clearer, what conversation do the parent and child have later, the parent says you cant do that, you have to smile and say thank you; the child says but I didn’t like the present, what does the parent say . . . LIE THEN! You don’t tell them that! You deceive them into thinking you’re thankful! PROVING, at bottom, we see ingratitude as worse than lying! Ingratitude is a poison, it is a sickness, it affects everything, and we hate it . . . when its them doing it, but we love our own ingratitudes.

I think it is right that we hate it, it reflects something very deeply in us that says the human should be a grateful creature, not a whining one.

This feeling about gratitude is made even sharper as we realize all that God has done FOR us, despite what we have done to Him, ingratitude then becomes grotesque.

What Paul does in large part in this letter, in an effort to mature them and us, is Give us Reasons that we should be the most grateful people that have ever lived and urge us to live gratefully and with these things in mind.

God could say, youll get what you get and don’t pitch a fit – a good and true parenting methodology, the first 5 times Coen whined last Tuesday because his chicken nuggets weren’t shaped like dinosaurs, I explained theologically and philosophically why they shouldn’t whine, on time 31 – “You get what you get and don’t pitch a fit.”

God doesn’t say that here, he says BE THANKFUL, and since you are febal pitiful humans that have to be reminded constantly, HERE’S WHY YOU SHOULD BE!

The Reasons for Thanksgiving (1:12-23)

1:12-14

He has Delivered You from the Domain of Darkness to the Kingdom of Light

Verse

Conversion is like God taking you out of ONE Kingdom (Darkness) and putting you into the OPPOSITE Kingdom (Light)

Paul regularly characterizes life before becoming Christians as an ethical and theological darkness (Eph. 5:8; 1 Thess. 5:4– 5; see also 1 Peter 2:9; 1 John 1:5– 7). This means all kinds of things, in the darkness you cannot see, you are blind to what is real around you, you are much more prone to trip and fall, you walk uneasily, unsure, there is fear in darkness because of the unknown. Immorality, anger, strife, vengeance, violence, and oppression thrive in the darkness. This is what its like to walk without Christ.

Christ illuminates your steps so you can see and walk confidently . . . he illuminates what is real and what was just a shadow or a figment of your imagination, he shows you there is no reason to fear, he refuses to let sin hide.

My youngest two often cry out at night when they are in their rooms and it is dark . . . I turn on the light to show them that what looked like a monster is just a lamp. . .

Christ has turned the lights on for you.

The Forgiveness of Sins - “is not merely good news for troubled consciences.” Jeremiah (31:31– 34) and Ezekiel (36:16– 36) speak of it as “one of the specific blessings of the new kingdom.” Paul is saying the New Way has come, the New Kingdom has come, and you have been made a part of it.

C. S. Lewis’s Narnia, always winter, never Christmas – he has changed it entirely for you, Narnia wasn’t heaven, it was life now. . .

The harsh rule of the Queen has been exchanged for the loving powerful rule of Aslan. The harsh rule of the prince of darkness has been exchanged for the wise sovereignty and love of God’s Son

He has Qualified you to Share in the Inheritance of the Saints

The imagery here is again of the Exodus. The phrase “share in the inheritance” was a phrase used to describe the Promised Land of Canaan being divided up amongst the tribes of Israel.

I love the image of qualification, Olympians Qualify for the Olympics, it means they have achieved what is necessary, if someone asks if you qualified for something, they are asking if you fit the conditions… accomplished - YOU DIDN’T

“be entitled to a particular benefit or privilege by fulfilling a necessary condition.”

What was the necessary condition to be qualified for salvation? Holiness. Perfection. Sinlessness. Obeying the Law.

Paul doesn’t say, “I am thankful that you were qualified to share in the inheritance, that you were qualified to be saved,” he says be thankful because GOD QUALIFIED YOU! That is a very odd modern idea, qualifying someone else for something? This is precisely what has occurred, God didn’t see that you were qualified, he made you qualified, he qualified you to share…

Additionally, hearing those words, You have Qualified, are normally words that bring rejoicing and peace, a burden lifted, an Olympian waits to hear if they have qualified . . . rejoice

Why should you give thanks? Because God has qualified you. If you had qualified yourself, thanksgiving wouldn’t even be the proper response, but since God has qualified you, thanksgiving is the only proper response.