What does gratitude look like today?

Hey wonderful church family.  Have you ever thought about how interesting it is that our society so quickly can go from a day devoted to thankfulness and gratitude to the very next day that declares that you need more, more, more so go, go, go and get more stuff that you don’t have.  Our society says don’t be thankful for too long.  One day is enough!  The struggle of living in a consumerist society is real.  Our society says reach past what you have right now and focus on what you do not have.  This is the heart of ingratitude.  Ingratitude says things are never as good as they should be for me.  Ingratitude focuses on the next thing instead of celebrating what you have been given.  Ingratitude blinds us to the never ending blessings in our life.  Ingratitude has as its center - me.  Ingratitude worships self and loves entitlement thinking that I deserve this.  Ingratitude makes us cosmic pessimists in life which makes us unable to be content with the gifts that have been given or even recognize those gifts.  Ingratitude robs us of joy, delight and worship in the One true God who is always good and His steadfast endures forever.  So, God is not joking when He says over and over “give thanks to the LORD for HE is good and His steadfast love endures forever” (2 Chronicles 16:34).

Thankfulness is a really big deal to God.  Follow this line of thought, thankfulness is rooted in gratitude and gratitude is a virtue rooted in our heart and that root of gratitude is worship and God wants our worship.  Therefore, gratitude and thankfulness are worship.  What does gratitude look like today?  Gratitude sees all of life as a gift from God.  Gratitude deflects all praise and glory from us to God alone.  Gratitude has eyes to see God’s love and favor toward us as an undeserved blessing.  Gratitude lives in the truth that all of life is a kindness from God.  Gratitude opens our eyes to the delight that this life is something to enjoy and celebrate rather than ignore and take for granted.  Gratitude rejoices in being loved by a gracious God where He responds to us with goodness and eternal love.  Gratitude erupts in heart felt expressions of thankfulness through words and actions and emotions.  Gratitude turns from an inward focus to an outward love of God and others.  Gratitude is worship.

Ask the Lord to cultivate within you a heart of gratitude that has as its root the worship of the One true God who is always good and His steadfast love endures forever.  Ask the LORD to bless you with a Gospel gratitude that celebrates a redeemed life as a child of God without any condemnation through Jesus Christ.  That is a Gospel Gratitude.

I look forward to worshipping with you from a heart of gratitude this Sunday.

Colossians 1:12-14  …giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.