Colossians 3:15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
Context: Colossians 3:12-14 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13bearing 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. 14And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…
From the lexicon: Peace=harmony among individuals. Thankful=grateful
Pulling it together: It is tempting to quote the last part of our verse and that would be a good lesson in itself–be thankful. In fact, in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 Paul instructs believers to give thinks in all circumstances. However, giving thanks in Colossians 3:15 is part of a larger conversation that of how we ought to live and act with fellow believers in Christ. Colossians 3:12-16 instructs us to have compassionate hearts with kindness, humility, meekness, patience, and love. In addition, Paul instructs us to be patient with one another, forgiving one another as the Lord has forgiven us. Note that these qualities do not come from ourselves but are available to us as God’s chosen ones. We put them on as one puts on a new set of clothes.
Verse 15 continues the thought. Let harmony that comes from God rule in your heart. Then we are reminded that as believers, we are in one body, the Body of Christ. The last part of this verse gives us the key how to accomplish this. Be thankful. Thankful for what? In this context, we are called to give thanks for fellow believers. And this makes sense. How can we hold grudges and the like against those we have set our minds to be thankful for?
Lord, I pray for grace to let the Word of Christ dwell in me and the grace to have a thankful heart for those You have placed in my life.