Monday, October 17, 2022

            Gratitude is part of the Christian life.  We are often moved to gratitude by the blessings of God.  We can be moved by the generosity and thoughtfulness of others as well.  Often, God blesses us through other people so we have the occasion to be grateful for God and those folks who are His hands, heart and voice to us.  In I Corinthians 1:4, Paul began his first letter to the Corinthians with a grateful voice.  He wrote, “I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.”  Paul was never reluctant to express humble gratitude to those who had blessed him.  A commitment to gratitude should be a mainstay in a believer’s life.  There should be consistent and faithful gratitude for what we have been given and the way God keeps watch over us. 
            We can often identify very particular and specific ways that God has blessed and enriched us.  The evidence of His abundance is visible for us to see.  We see answers to prayers, unexpected blessings and opportunities that only God could have orchestrated or granted to us.  Consider the changing of summer into fall and the dazzling gift of color and beauty that we find in nature at this time of year.  The approaching months of November and December give us opportunities to see the abundance and blessings of God in Thanksgiving, Advent and Christmas where we celebrate the greatest of all gifts—His Son Jesus.
            Paul was thankful for the evidence of God that He saw in the Christians to whom he wrote in Corinth.  We can also take joy in those where we see clear and even unmistakable evidence of God being at work.  A child who professes faith in Jesus Christ is a reason for giving thanks—God has been at work in that child to bring His love and grace.  We take joy in the counsel of a trusted Christian friend who speaks to us from the heart and takes the time to invest in our lives in some special way.  We give thanks for those through whom God teaches us.  A Sunday School teacher or a beloved author may be just the one God uses to bring a word of instruction or encouragement to us.
            If you read Paul’s letters, you find that he often singles out and names people who have been a blessing to him and for whom he is profoundly grateful.  Romans 16 reads like a “who’s who” from Paul’s life as he made connections with believers in Rome.  I Corinthians 1:4 teaches us to recognize occasions to be grateful.  This passage helps us to recall that God is always at work to bless, encourage, comfort, counsel or correct us.  And we give thanks for each expression of His fatherly love and kindness to us.
            In this single verse from I Corinthians, Paul reminds us that God’s gifts are always grounded and centered in His grace.  The gifts are undeserved.  Nonetheless, they are given and provided.  And God knows how to bless and honor us.  He is fully aware of what we need and precisely when we need it.  We give thanks for this faithfulness that we encounter each day.  Consider some ways you can be grateful today.  Voice your praise and thankfulness to God and acknowledge what He has done for you and in your life.  Have a great Monday and remember you can share our worship anytime at youtube.com/FirstBaptistKannapolis.