Colossians 3:15 – And Become Thankful

15 And let the peace of Christ be arbitrating in your hearts, for which you were called also in one body; and become thankful.

Paul does not say: be thankful, but: become thankful. Literally, there is a verb that indicates becoming, coming into being, coming to something. Gratitude, then, is not merely a mood that is either present or absent, but an attitude that comes into being and in which a human being is formed. And precisely in this lies a surprising reversal: we do not only give thanks because we are thankful; we become thankful by giving thanks.

Giving thanks is the conscious naming of what we freely receive. It is significant that, in Greek, the word for giving thanks (eucharisteo) is directly connected with charis: grace. Earlier, Paul had already called them to be “superabounding in it with thanksgiving” (2:7). Whoever learns to give thanks in this way acknowledges that everything is gift. He discovers more and more reasons to give thanks – and increasingly becomes a thankful human being.

And in that grace, joy is also contained. It is no coincidence that chara also echoes in charis: joy. Whoever gives thanks is brought to consider what has been freely granted to him and sees in it renewed reason for gladness. Thus giving thanks is not merely the expression of gratitude, but also the path by which it comes into being. Whoever learns to see grace learns to give thanks – and whoever gives thanks becomes glad.

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