Thankfulness in Everything? (Philippians 4:4-9)...Continued from page 1

As we have many children here it would be interesting to ask, "Have you ever given thanks for the wonderful miracle of your body?" A great architect said there's been no invention like the human hand, and it's true.

Children (of all ages), have you thought about your noses lately? Suppose that your nose was on upside down. Every time you would sneeze, you'd blow your hat off. That's right. And if your nose was on upside down, when it rains you'd drown. That may sound silly but you know what I think is sillier? Forgetting to give thanks to God who created this marvelous miracle called our body. The Bible says we are wonderfully made. We are!

Although we are wonderfully made, we're too small to cling to all of the thankfulness that wells up in us. When we want to thank God, it spills over and we begin thanking other people. When we're truly thankful to God, we begin to thank people for what they have meant to us. We write a note. We make a phone call. We stop a person in our busy schedule and say, "You know, I really appreciate you." Thanksgiving -- it is not a time of the year but an attitude of the heart that changes people. We are to give thanks in all things obvious.

In All Things Obscure, Give Thanks

Obscure? What does that mean? It means opportunities that are hidden, people that we don't see right away, things that seem of little value until we take a closer look.

In this passage Paul says, "Whatever is true, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good report or gracious ... think on these things." It means calculate. Stop and ponder. Think about them for a while and begin to see that these "things obscure" go beyond our casual seeing.

"Give thanks for those things that are true." That word is a wonderful word. It means not only that which is true in terms of truth-telling, or honest speaking, but also those things that are solid, of lasting substance. It is not what flits away, is here today and gone tomorrow, but the enduring things: to give thanks for friendships that don't just blow away in tough times; to give thanks for a marriage.

We were at a conference where the President of Princeton Seminary was the speaker. His daughter came to him one day and said, "I've looked around and there just aren't any good marriages. I'm so discouraged. I don't want to get married." I've heard that many times and I must admit that it seems to be true. But I loved his response. He said, "I'll tell you one marriage that's good. It's the marriage of your mother and I." She said, "Oh, that doesn't count." And he said, "It counts!"

And that's what I want to say, It counts! It counts to give thanks for those things that are true and that endure.

Paul says whatever things are lovely, think on those things. This suggests that whatever people are loveable and amiable, give thanks for them. There is a famous psychologist who calls some folks "noxious people." They are people who seem to make us sick because they're always negative and pointing out our foibles, inconsistencies and the things we've done wrong. But he says there are also "nourishing people" in our lives. Give thanks for those who nourish you, who feed you, who are a part of God's gracious plan to build you up.