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Giving Thanks for Christian Friends
BY HENRY M. MORRIS,
PH.D.
“We give thanks to
God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers.” (1 Thessalonians 1:2)
We all have much to be thankful for.
It is certainly appropriate to give audible
thanks for our daily bread, whether in private, at a family meal, or in public
at a fine restaurant.
In fact, Jesus set the example.
When He miraculously fed the multitude beside
the Sea of Galilee, He began with a prayer of thanksgiving: “He took
the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them. . . . And
they did all eat, and were filled” (Matthew
15:36-37).
It is good to give thanks for our food and
shelter and clothing, but the blessing of having Christian friends is even more
thankworthy.
The first letter to the Thessalonians was
possibly Paul’s first Spirit-inspired letter to Christian friends, and Paul began
with a testimony of thankfulness to God for them (see the text above).
When Paul wrote to the Philippians, he began
similarly: “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you” (Philippians 1:3).
And to the Colossians, he started the same
way: “We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
praying always for you” (Colossians 1:3).
The same when he wrote his epistle to the church
at Corinth: “I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of
God which is given you by Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:4).
Even when writing to the Christians at Rome,
whom he had not yet met personally, he wrote: “First, I thank my God
through Jesus Christ for you all” (Romans 1:8).
Throughout our Christian life journey, we
develop lasting Christian friends and can thank God for all of them.
What a blessing to have such friends, and how
fitting it is to give God special thanks for them at this time.
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