Tidbits for Thought

AFTER

Psalm 100 “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. Know the Lord is God. It is He who made us and we are His: we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.”

Another Thanksgiving is now in the record books…. a day originally set aside to express gratitude and thanksgiving for what we enjoy…. both material and spiritual. While it is a holiday that a majority enjoy, it seems rather ironic that it seems necessary to set aside a special time to prompt us to be grateful and thankful. In reality, those are two emotions that should start every day, end every day and be a full part of every day, especially for Christians who are forgiven of their sins and are alive and well in God’s embrace. Gratitude and thanksgiving are to the Christian as oxygen is to living…. they are absolutely necessary for us to live and thrive in a world that is not always friendly and can, in fact, be downright ugly and dangerous.

The Christian is gifted with a multitude of blessings that are so earth shattering that mere words cannot do full justice. When we meet Jesus in the watery grave of baptism and emerge as a resurrected believer, Jesus then takes us by the hand and walks beside us into the fullness of eternity. How is it remotely possible to express in words or thoughts the fullness of this magnificent gift with which we are gifted? How does one express his or her full appreciation of the sacrifice that made our salvation possible? How does one express in words or thoughts the absolute miracle of grace that quietly unfolds in our life? How is unconditional forgiveness explained in a rational way? It seems as if undying and radical gratitude is the only proper response.

Gratitude can be expressed in many ways; prayer, praise, worship come to mind immediately. Giving back is also an act of gratitude. When we lead a life with Christ as a guide and model, we are surely giving back to the world an overflow of what our Creator and Savior gives us.

Our gratitude to the Lord is never more evident than when we extend His grace and forgiveness to another individual. Our gratitude for the love of Jesus is never more real and tangible than when we reach out in His name to the hurting and confused. Our gratitude for our own salvation is never more evident than when we enrich another individual with the message of Jesus and the salvation, He offers those who accept Him. The gratitude we have for our very life as a saved child of God is never more powerful than when we truly give thanks to Him for everything in our lives, even the challenges, pain and grief that seem, sometimes, to be insurmountable.

In our weakness, we find His strength and everlasting love….in His strength and everlasting love, we find our hope….in our gratitude we celebrate that strength, hope and everlasting love. Think about it!         ~ Aron Smith