Often times being thankful is based on what things or provisions we’ve received. Today, I’d like us to understand what it means to have “A Gospel-Centered Thankful Life”.

Let me explain that “A Gospel-Centered Thankful Life” applies three things:

FAITH to live by.

LOVE to exemplify.

HOPE to stand by.

A Pastor by the name of Dave McFadden said,

As we look more closely at faith, love and hope and how they’re to be applied to our lives, we will find ourselves having thankful hearts with praise to God.

Let’s look at the first virtue that we can be thankful for, “faith”. We are to live out our faith by our works through Christ.

Anything we do by our own ability is man-made, but faith in God enables us to do anything we cannot do, but can do through Christ!

When we experience God’s power working through our lives, because of our faith in Him, we find ourselves thanking God for what He does through us!

Living our lives by a faith that produces works glorifies God and creates thankful hearts.

In Revelation 2: 2 – 3 we see how God knows our works of faith & is pleased with them.

Living our lives by the labor of faith is not easy. The word labor in the Greek is “kopou” and it means fatigue and exhaustion, something well worth experiencing for the cause of Christ’s Kingdom work!

Living a “gospel-centered” life is truly something to be thankful for. Faith is worth living out, but love must be a part of it.

The word here that Jesus has for the world is “agapao”, which means, to love socially, i.e., a love for all people. This word can be found in several places like John 13:34-35.

Yet there is one last “love” mentioned in verse 35. It says, “if you have love for one another”. This “love” is slightly different than the word “agapao” previously used. This word is “agapay”, meaning: love, benevolence (specifically plural), a love feast of charity, dear (and again) love. 2 of 4

We are commanded to love people, but especially our brothers and sisters in the Lord.

We will find that through faith in Christ, we can have unconditional love for one another and those in the world around us! This love reveals God working through our lives! God’s love is truly something we can be thankful for!

The relationship between faith and love is grounded in hope.

This kind of hope is not being hopeful that something will be accomplished, it is the hope we have in God’s promises, specifically the hope of our personal inheritance in Him!

“Christian hope in the future promises has the effect of developing stronger faith and greater love.” Pastor Dave McFadden

Let’s look at these three working together in the Church of Colossae in

Colossians 1:3 – 6.

Faith, love and hope when practiced in our lives, effects the world around us!

I want to read a story from Chicken Soup about one man’s actions affecting another and bringing Faith, Hope and Love in to that person’s reality.

I want to encourage you to make efforts to live out your faith and let Christ do good works through you that will effect the world around you. Then take time to express thankfulness to God for what He has done through you. Live “A Gospel-Centered Thankful Life!