Day 319
Grateful for everything? EVERYTHING? I have long believed this to be central to faith in a God that cares. It has disturbed me more than a few times when evangelical leaders have pushed back with being thankful in all circumstances, but not for all things (see notes below). At the risk of justifying my own evil acts, I believe an all-powerful God has the ability to protect me from bad things — even from myself. So if He chooses not to do that, and if I want to believe He has the best plans and interests at heart for his children, then how can I not give thanks for ALL His decisions, not just the ones I like. Many years ago, I saw a church drama that concluded with these written points in a set of post-skit discussion notes:
Explore the differences between Thessalonians 5:16-18 and Ephesians 5:19-20
Thessalonians was written to a church of new converts, Ephesians to an established church.
Thessalonians was presenting basic concepts for new Christians, Ephesians was trying to encourage Christians to mature and expand their understanding.
Thessalonians says to "...be thankful IN all circumstances," Ephesians says to "...be thankful FOR all things."
Paul wrote Thessalonians in about 50 AD and Ephesians in about 60 AD.
Perhaps Paul had experienced some maturing of his own. That doesn't mean I'm good at it, but it's what I believe. Someday I hope to be able to apply this belief to my current circumstances as a sex addict.
–JR
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