Who will you include and who will include you?
This weekend in Canada, we are having our annual Thanksgiving celebration. A day set aside for us to be thankful to God and those who have imparted our lives in one way or the other. A day to reflect on the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. It is also a day to celebrate with God’s people and family.
We have many things to be grateful for and if we are thoughtful then we would be thankful. More than having a day set aside for Thanksgiving, we should make gratitude a lifestyle. Being thankful should be every day because God’s mercies are new every morning. In other words, we should turn our thanksgiving to thanksliving. Every blessing, favor, grace, kindness, or goodness received should be turned to praise. Giving thanks should not therefore be something we do once in a while but something we do all the time.
For some of us, gratitude is not natural to us. To complain comes more naturally, it is more of our default setting. Being grateful is not something we do automatically. But if we are to experience the best that life has to offer, conscious and consistent thanksgiving should be a part of our life. It should be our auto-response at all times. We must learn to be grateful in response to the help, support, and benevolence we have received from God and others.
“Jesus was a grateful person. On many occasions, He expressed His appreciation to the Father.”
In other words, gratitude should be our lifestyle. Jesus was a grateful person. On many occasions, He expressed His appreciation to the Father. The reality is that many of us can be thankful when everything is going well, but very few of us can be thankful when things are not going our way. When things are not happening the way they should happen or the way we want. Yet, we are encouraged and at the same time commanded to give thanks at all times and for all things in the name of Jesus because this is God’s will for us. That means thankfulness should be the first way we respond to things. If are not responsive, then we will be reactive.
As we continue in this season, we must be reflective. We must see the hand of God in everything that concerns us even if it is a handful. Reflection births expression. We are reflective before we can be expressive. If we are not reflective, we will be reactive. If we are reactive, then we will not be proactive. So, being reflective helps us to be proactive. Being reflective helps us to be sensitive to God’s works in and around us. God is always at work both to do and will for His good pleasure. That implies that on a good day or not-so-good day, God is always up to something.
“we should turn our thanksgiving to thanksliving”
As the apostle Paul was concluding his letter to the Christians in Rome (Rom 16: 1-16), he took his time to appreciate some people who had touched his life and ministry. He listed their names because their contributions were immense to the success of his ministry. These people according to the apostle were helpers to many, willing to take initiative, took leadership roles in everything he wanted to do, sacrificed for him, and risked their lives and everything they had for others as well. Some of them toiled and labored extremely hard to make sure the church of Jesus stood. In other words, they went above and beyond the call of duty to ensure that things went smoothly. Some of them also used their influence to open doors for others. They were consistent in their walk with God and their work with and for Him.
The truth is that no one succeeds alone. There are some people that God has planted in our way to help us fulfill our ministries and calling. Unfortunately, some of us have taken these people for granted by not recognizing their input and have not taken the time to say thank you to them.
This season is another time that we can reach out to them to say thank you for the part they have played so far in our lives. Some of those people may have moved on while some may still be with us, we need to take the time to express our gratitude in words or kind to let them know how we feel about their gesture. We cannot afford to be ingrate. Everyone needs someone. Everybody needs somebody and God has designed some people to stick with you through thick and thin to support you, to strength you, and to help you succeed. If you have those people around you, you need to celebrate them and recognize their contributions.
I wonder who will include you in the lists of those to be thankful for. I wonder how impactful your life has been. I wonder if you are still vibrant and always abounding in the work of the Lord.
As I read this chapter I noticed the following:
- These people listed here were not looking or waiting for the apostle’s accolades before they did what was needful, they just responded to what needed to be done. Some of them were not even waiting to be asked, they saw that something was missing, and they went to fill the gap. Unfortunately, some of us are folding our hands and cannot be bothered because we think the people who need us have not come to ask us. They have not expressed their need for us, so we are not doing anything to help. Some of us are waiting for someone to recognize us by our names, skill sets, and titles before we can get our hands dirty. We need to think again. Paul listed these people because they were contributors, and were willing to help.
2. These people may not have everything together before they started helping. In fact, they might have their own issues and struggles as well but they left everything aside to serve others. No wonder the apostle recognized them.
3. These people were not waiting for other people’s credit before they did what they did. They saw that it was the right thing to do and did it anyway.
4. These people started from where they were with whatever they had and they began to grow. One of the reasons some of us are not doing anything is that we don’t think we have something to contribute, so we belittle what God has given to us and instead of using it, we belittle it and hide it. Nothing can be farther from this truth, you have something that you can start using right now no matter how small it is, and if you are faithfully committed to it, you will that God will put His extra on it.
5. These people were ordinary people like us. They did not think of themselves as so special, but they yielded themselves as instruments of righteousness and made the commitment to take one step at a time, and the God who rewards diligently rewarded them. They did not wait to be big to start big, but they started small in their own way and God multiplied their seed sown.
6. These people loved to help and they helped the apostle. They were not forced to, they willingly offered their service to the Lord and His people. They gave their all to support God’s people.
“Everybody needs somebody and God has designed some people to stick with you through thick and thin to support you,”
7. These people annexed their differences to help Paul. I know it is being said that we should put our differences aside, but I want to say we should not put our differences aside because it takes away from the richness of our experience, instead, we should find ways to ensure that we can support one another with the blessing of being different. We should bring everything we have to the table so that God can use us and be glorified in all things.
8. These people opened wide their doors to serve God’s people. God wants to use us and everything we have including our homes. For some of us, we don’t want to go all the way, we don’t want to get too involved, we just want to get by with doing little. If we are to spread God’s kingdom, we must be willing to use our homes, resources, connections, and influences as well. We must serve God just like Joshua said with our household. We must be also ready to open the doors of our houses to serve the saints.
“I wonder if you are doing anything that will warrant someone else to include you in their own report as well.”
These people were a part of the Apostle Paul’s success story, I wonder who has been a part of your success story. I want to encourage you to reach out to them to say thank you.
In the same vein, I wonder if you are doing anything that will warrant someone else to include you in their own report as well. Think about this.
Happy Thanksgiving!
