So much to be thankful for; for those who are called children of God! In his first letter to the Thessalonians, the Apostle Paul was inspired to write, "in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" and again in his letter to the Ephesians he wrote, "always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father". It is God's will that His children be ongoingly thankful and have Him as the focus of that thankfulness.
If we were to make a list of all that we are, or should be thankful for, such a list would be extensive in length. Perhaps at the top of our list would be the words written by the Apostle Paul in his second letter to the Corinthian church where he wrote, "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" All that we have to be thankful for finds its existence in light of this "indescribable gift", the gift of His Son, Jesus.
I am so thankful for the gift of salvation that I have in Christ. Forgiveness of sin is a privilege to treasure. I am thankful for my beautiful wife and the two wonderful children God has blessed us with. I am thankful for my job and for all that God provides each and every day. I am thankful for our church family. I am thankful for the privilege to serve Him. I am thankful for answered prayer. The list goes on and on but it is really something else that I wish to speak of today.
How is it that I can be thankful at all? Why can I thank God for anything? Why can I sit here now or at any other time and write this or any other thought regarding the things of the Almighty? The answer to these questions is found in a single word; Grace. I know that Jesus is the "name which is above every name" and that it is "the name of the Lord Jesus Christ" that I have been justified in. As stated above, it is in His name that we are to give thanks. His name is truly the "sweetest name I know".
But besides His name, grace is the sweetest word I know. Perhaps there is no other word in scripture that would alter the course of humanity more significantly if it were to not be found in our bibles. So many words have other words that could take their place. But what could take the place of grace? In 2 Corinthians 4:15 we read, "For all things are for your sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God". You see, it is grace that causes the giving of thanks that abounds to the glory of God.
In closing, in the 5th chapter of the Book of Romans, we find a glorious truth that the Apostle Paul was inspired to speak of regarding our Lord Jesus Christ when he wrote, "through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand". Salvation is not the end of grace, but our introduction into it!
Father, we have so much to be thankful for. But today I will simply say, "thank you for grace". If it were not for your grace, I could not know or thank you for your Son. I would not know how to thank you for forgiving my sins, for my family, for answered prayer, for my church family and for the many things I have to be thankful for. So at this time of thanksgiving, help me, help all your children, to be thankful for your grace. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, we pray that grace, "which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks" by all who have experienced it.
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Comment on “Why We Can Be Thankful”
Oh, what a wonderful process of thought you have received from our Lord. The gift of clarity is essential for any writer to be concise, yet successfully communicate his point to the reader without the possibility of misinterpretation. Such is your gift, and you are using it for His good pleasure.
It is natural for a believer to have concern for those who do not believe. I wonder if the underlying problem that non-believers face is an abnormally short attention span. You see, a short attention span can create and nurture an “it’s all about me” false belief. Take the title of this week’s blog for example. The non-believer quite possibly looks at, “Why We Can Be Thankful” and loses focus after, “Why We Can!”
Over, and over again, the lost soul stops reading (or listening) before the message concludes, falling prey to the misconception that everything is about him. For example, the non-believer would listen to the prayer, “All That I Am Thankful For,” but stop listening after, “All That I Am.” He would read Romans 13:8, “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another” but quit registering after, “Owe nothing to anyone” – or1Timothy 6:10, “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil” and you guessed it, he would stop understanding after, “For the love of money”!
It just might be that when God wants a non-believer to understand His Holy Word, He begins by first lengthening their attention span. I know that this is how He began with me!
Father, we are fallible; You are not. We are afflicted with a limited power of concentration; You are not. We tend to give up prematurely, but thankfully, for all our sakes, You stay the course. We appreciate the way You patiently allow us to muddle through and come up short, again, and again, yet You continue to Love us, anyway.
Bob
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