And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Colossians 3:15 ESV
We are in the middle of the exhortation and encouragement to right living that Paul gave the Colossae church, now with the instruction to “let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.” While this looks nice written in script on a coffee mug, what does it mean and how do we do it?
First, start by looking at Philippians 4:6-7: “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
We see that putting aside worry and focusing on being thankful to God brings peace and security. In Matthew 6:34 Jesus also told us not to worry. So it seems releasing worry about things outside our control, and being thankful in prayer, are two ways to have the peace of Christ.
Let’s also look at Romans 5:1: “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Here we are told that through the gift of salvation we have peace with God through Christ. Tying this to the verses in Philippians and Colossians, we find we don’t need to worry about losing our salvation – we are secure in Christ, justified by faith in Him.
As a side note, this doesn’t mean we should stop “working out [our] salvation with fear and trembling” (cf: Philippians 2:12-13), as that is speaking to the obedience Christians must have to the Lord. But it does mean we can have peace knowing that we are free from the law of works and redeemed from sins we could never pay for (see Gal. 2:15-16).
We can also look to the preceding verses here in Colossians for more immediate context on Paul’s command: “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony,” (Col. 3:12-14).
Simply stated, if we are compassionate, kind, humble, forgiving, and loving, we are exemplifying the life and attitude of Christ which will lead to a peaceful heart and life. This seems to be why Paul says we are “called in one body,” meaning that the Church must always attempt to live in this manner and that the peace of Christ should be found among believers.
Verse 15 ends with the unassuming statement: “And be thankful.” Paul expounds on this in verse 17: “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
Being thankful is one of those things that always seems easy, but I think in reality is much harder than we want to admit. We give thanks for our meals and for arriving safely at our destination, but are we truly and genuinely thankful for everything? If we’re honest, the answer is usually no. Like little children, we tend to focus on what we don’t have or the current problem we are facing more than what we do have or all the good things in our lives.
But what if we were thankful for everything, both the good and what we perceive as the bad? Imagine the peace we’d have permeating our hearts if we could honestly be thankful for the trial we were going through, or the fact that the Lord has not given us the thing we desire most? How much more peaceful would life be if we lived with a mindset allowing us to be thankful for that 15th red light we hit on the way to work (btw: I’ll let you know when I conquer this one).
Yes, this is hard, and I am the first to admit I’m not there by any stretch of the imagination. However, passages like this remind us that any underlying attitude other than thankfulness will quench the peace of Christ in our heart.
We cannot have the peace of Christ without being thankful.
Consider that for a moment. What if we were truly thankful in every circumstance? How much different would our day look? How much more impactful would our witness be? How much more joyful would our walk with Christ be?
Living this way is indeed God’s will for us and something we should be striving for, even though it’s difficult: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you,” (1 Thes. 5:18). And if this is God’s will for us, He will help us get there by the work of the Holy Spirit – we just have to surrender to Him.
Paul tells us that in order to have the peace of Christ rule in our hearts, we have to exemplify the life of Christ and always be thankful. And I imagine that if we start with thanksgiving, the other traits – the fruit of the Spirit – will bloom from that rich soil.
With Colossians 3:15 in mind, what are you thankful for today?