Thankful for People

Paul opens his letter to the Philippians with a window into his grateful heart: I thank my God upon every remembrance of you. Among all the things he gives thanks for, here he thanks God for people, for these particular believers whose faces and fellowship came to his mind. Notice "every remembrance", every time they crossed his thoughts, gratitude rose. The people God had placed in his life were, to Paul, a constant occasion for thanks.

It is easy to take the people in our lives for granted, or worse, to let them become sources of irritation and complaint rather than gratitude. We notice their faults more readily than their gifts, their offences more than their blessings. But Paul models a different way of remembering people, with thanks. The family, friends, fellow believers, and even the difficult people God has placed around us are gifts to be thankful for, not merely obstacles to endure. And gratitude for people, once cultivated, transforms our relationships: it is hard to be bitter toward someone you are busy thanking God for.

Bring some specific people to mind today, and thank God for them, not their usefulness to you, but the gift of them. Let every remembrance become, like Paul's, an occasion for thanks.