Ephesians 5:20, [give] ‘thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…’
Consider that the Holy Spirit calls us to give thanks *always* and for *everything.* Of course, this is easy (though we still often forget) when our bodies are healthy and our loved ones are safe and our soul’s are at rest…but this command extends far beyond that. ‘Always,’ and ‘for everything’ means that even in the darkness, even under—and for—the shadows of fear, even in the bitter anguish of senseless tragedy…even then, we are to give thanks. How can this be? The key is found in the prepositional phrase: ‘in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.’
To give thanks ‘in Jesus’ name,’ means far more than simply saying ‘in Jesus’ name, amen.’ Jesus’ ‘name,’ is the fullness of who He is…to give thanks in His name is to give thanks within the acknowledgment of who He is, within the reality shaped by His identity…to give thanks for something *in His name* is to give thanks for that thing *as it is understood, received, and interpreted in light of the crucified and risen Son.* ONLY in this way—ONLY “in His Name”—can we give thanks for ‘ALL things.’ Why?
Because, in Christ’s sufferings are embraced every time, every event, every circumstance from every life of every one of His people….and by the the transfiguration of that suffering to beauty through the resurrection, all of the circumstances borne within that suffering are—faith grasps this truth as a eschatological fact—all of those circumstances *are already* transfigured to beauty, just as the wounds of damnation become emblems of peace and heralds of joy in the flesh of the risen Lord (Jn 20:19-20). [[But how can our hearts bear to do this in the midst of pain?
