Verse of the Day for November 27

Paul mixes his pictures in verse 7, and the mix is the point. Rooted and built up in him. A tree and a building in the same breath. One grows quietly underground. The other is put together stone by stone.

The last phrase is about overflow. Abounding therein with thanksgiving. A rooted, built up life does not just hold thanks. It spills it.

Then verse 8 warns about being plundered. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit. To spoil, in this old English, is to carry off as loot. Clever ideas can strip a believer of what they were given.

Gratitude is one of the best defences against that. A thankful person keeps remembering where everything came from. Verse 6 has already said it: As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. Received. When someone offers a smooth explanation that leaves Christ out, the thankful heart gives an honest answer. I did not build this alone, and I did not grow it myself.

If a friend at work or a classmate asks why you still believe, you do not need a lecture. Tell the truth about what you received. Thanks is an honest answer.

Gratitude keeps you honest about where your life came from.

Clever ideas lose their grip on a heart that remembers its gifts.