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Thanks For Nothing
Adrian Morgan
November 22, 2015
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The Gift of Gratitude
"Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." - Colossians 3:13
"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." - Ephesians 4:32
Gratitude understands deeply the gift that has been given. Gratitude appreciates fully the sacrifice that was made for the gift to be offered.
Gratitude receives the gift with great humility, knowing this gift was given with great love, and is to be treated with great care.
Do we understand the gift that has been given to us?
Do we appreciate fully the sacrifice that was made so that we might receive this gift?
Do we treat the gift with care or tuck it away only to be admired during certain seasons and trials?
We have been given an incredible gift. Our gratitude does not come from temporal pleasures or fleeting vanities. Our gratitude springs forth from Calvary, where the gift of forgiveness was offered on our behalf, for which we did nothing to deserve. But oh how quickly we forget.
This week I have been humbled by my ability to so easily receive the forgiveness of Christ and my inability to offer the forgiveness of Christ to those who have hurt me. In the same week, often even the same day, I can take of the bread and the blood that washes me clean and in the next instance refuse that same forgiveness and love, for which I am dependent upon, to those in my life. This week as we celebrate Thanksgiving let us not just give thanks for what we have but also give the forgiveness and love of Christ to our friends and family. For this is the mark of a truly grateful people.
Christ's gift is to be given as well as received.