A pastor was renowned for his ability to be constantly grateful. One Sunday morning, the weather was appalling. His congregation wondered how he’d react. He prayed, “We thank You, Lord, that the weather’s not always like this!”
St. Paul begins his letters on a warm and positive note of immense thankfulness to God for the people he’s communicating with. His letter to the Philippians begins, “I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you.” In the middle of his first letter to the Thessalonians, we have an outburst of gratitude, “How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy that we feel before our God because of you? (1 Thessalonians 3:9)”
Every request St. Paul makes is accompanied by gratitude for blessings already received, and expressions of thanks for blessings still to come. He sees as his mission that as more people will hear of God’s undeserved love for them, thankfulness will increase. “Yes, everything is for your sake, so that grace, as it extends to more and more people, may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God (2 Thessalonians 4:15).” The church in Corinth, like many churches today, had its problems. In this letter, Paul confronts the problems in Corinth in a realistic and gracious way. But he won’t let the church’s problems loom so large so as to overshadow our Lord’s incredible goodness to His people. “Where sin increased, God’s grace increased all the more (Romans 5:20).” Paul thanks God on their behalf for blessings they’ve received from the Father and the Son. He does that because he feels that he personally benefits from the gifts and talents of the members of his church.
We’re reminded that everything we possess is a gift of God’s grace, “What do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why do you boast as if it were not a gift? (1 Corinthians 4:7)” Some of us hold grudges or resentments. Although God’s Word says, “love does not insist on its own way”, some of us insist on things being done our way. And like some of the Corinthian Christians, when things aren’t as we would like them, we withhold our contributions to help Christ’s Church. God had blessed the Corinthians with gifts for the growth of their church. Instead of using their resources and their presence for the benefit of their fellow church members, they used what they had to promote themselves and their opinions and ideas. The New Testament calls the spiritual gifts we possess “services”, to remind us we’re to serve each other with our abilities, skills and resources.
His grace is big enough to forgive any lack of faithfulness on our part, or anything we’ve said or done that may have hurt someone else. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is for imperfect human beings, just like all of us who are struggling with our imperfections. The grace of Christ our Saviour is good news, because it continues to affirm that we are Christians despite any doubts we may have, despite our lack of patience, small resentments and critical spirit. Our Saviour accepts us with our lapses in courtesy and kindness, or any lingering aggression. You are loved and accepted despite all these. The good news about God’s amazing grace is that His Son’s merits are big enough to make and keep you a Christian, in the face of doubt and discontent, or in the face of death or declining health. When we pray about these things, we find what a creative and transforming power is the Gospel of God’s grace. The proof of the Gospel rests on the countless lives it has transformed and continues to transform.
A man spent a lot of his money on beer, while his home lacked furniture. One day, he heard the Gospel and his life was transformed. Fellow factory-workers noticed the change in attitude, speech and behaviour. They began to rib him, as he now spent his money buying furniture for his family. “You believe all that stuff about Jesus changing water into wine?” they asked him mockingly. He answered, “I don’t know how He changed water into wine. One thing I do know; He does change beer into furniture!”
It is as you use what you have for the benefit of someone else, that your own appreciation grows of how richly God has blessed you. Count your blessings and discount your losses. You’ve been blessed by God to be a blessing to others. You are here to make life better for as many people as you can, while you can. The very least every one of you can do is to pray for God to bless the members of your congregation, and to thank Him for them. Grateful Christians are the most resourceful in doing our Lord’s work. They are busy “acting out” their gratitude, doing their duties without complaining, and not taking God’s blessings for granted.
We can be confident that this will happen, because of God’s faithfulness. His faithfulness to His followers is one of God’s outstanding attributes. The Psalmists praise God’s trustworthiness and reliability, because He stuck by them when they had failed Him. God keeps His promises to care for you “when all things seem against us, to drive us to despair.” Each one of you is promised that “The Lord is faithful; He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one (2 Thessalonians 3:2).” We sing with ceaseless gratitude, “Great is your faithfulness, morning by morning new mercies I see.” We base our hope for the future, not on our questionably “good record”, but on the fact that “the One who calls you is faithful”. God’s faithfulness is the permanent expression of His unearned, unmerited love for you.
How reassuring it is that our unfaithfulness doesn’t nullify our Lord’s faithfulness to us. The Bible sings of His reliable, dependable faithfulness to us: “The saying is sure: If we have died with Him, we will also live with Him; if we endure, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He will also deny us; if we are faithless, He remains faithful – for He cannot deny Himself (2 Timothy 2:11-13).”
The rainbow is God’s symbol of His faithfulness to us (Genesis 8:22). What is most remarkable is that Jeremiah can still speak strongly of God’s faithfulness in the face of the exile of his people in Babylon: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him.’ The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul that seeks Him (Lamentations 3:22-25).”
King Henry III grew tired of palace life and the pressures of being king. He applied to join a monastery. The Prior is reported to have said: “Do you understand that the pledge here is one of obedience? That will be hard because you have been a king.” Henry replied: “I understand. The rest of my life I will be obedient to you, as Christ leads you.” The Prior said, “Then I will tell you what to do. Go back to your throne and serve faithfully in the place where God has placed you.” When the king died, a statement was written, “The King learned to rule by being obedient.”
Like King Henry III, we too often tire of our role and responsibility. Like him, we too need to be reminded that God has placed each of us in a particular place to be faithful there. Be it a plumber, accountant, parent or whatever. God is delighted to find us faithful where He has placed us. Then, at life’s end, we will hear those welcome words of our Lord, “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into your Lord’s joy.”
And may the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, guard our hearts and minds as we wait and watch for our coming Lord Christ Jesus. Amen.
