Expressing Gratitude to our Risen Lord must be a priority.
Matthew 26:6-13
He is Risen!!!
Halleluiah Christ is Risen
A grateful heart is refreshingly lovely is it not? In our age of entitlement, it particularly stands out as a pristinely beautiful trait. It brings a sweet smelling aroma to our Lord. Gratitude is a sincere and concrete expression of the attitude of our heart not only demonstrating appreciation but love and respect as well. According to Matthew, a woman came and anointed Jesus with a very expensive perfume from an alabaster jar as He reclined at a table. While her actions may seem a strange sort of compliment to us it was then thought of as the highest act of respect. Her selfless demonstration of love and gratefulness for what the Lord Jesus had done for her earned her great kudos from the Master. Paul tells us in Colossians “a thankful heart is God’s will for every believer and to be thankful”. Col 3:15,18. “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thess 5:16-18 (NIV)
Cultivating a grateful heart is not just an add-on nicety, a civil tip of the hat to God as we steamroll through our day. A posture of purposeful, perpetual thanks to God is absolutely central to Christian character. It gives glory to Him who died on our place so that we can live.
“Gratitude is not only the memory but the homage of the heart – rendered to God for His goodness.” Nathaniel Parker Willis
When there is true love and thankfulness in the heart for Jesus, nothing is thought of as too good to bestow on Him. Our gratitude demonstrates our faith and trust in Him with even our most priceless possessions. It is agreeing with Him that He has our best interest at heart, that He loves us and cares for us even if we may be perplexed at our circumstances. Cultivating an attitude of gratitude is essential for our joy as well. It must become a fixed habit which no circumstance can weaken in our situations – it brings forth both joy and peace. Remember, we are not praising the situation but the God who controls all and is able to turn what seems most difficult into what is most good for us. He is the Maker of beauty from ashes. He is the Giver of every good and perfect gift. I am reminded of the Prophet Habakkuk’s resolution of gratefulness when he wrote in his dark day the following:
“17 Though the fig tree does not bud .., though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, …, 18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Saviour. 19 The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.” Hab 3:17-19 (NIV)
“The root of joy is gratefulness … It is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful.” David Steindl-Rast
There will always be the naysayers among us – those who sneer at our thanksgiving in all things as impossibility. Just as those disciples who were indignant over the waste of the costly perfume. Yet the “sacrifice of praise” will always be costly. Is it really a gift if it is not dear – if it doesn’t cost? I believe the sweetest songs of praise and thanksgiving – the highest honour we can bestow upon the Saviour – flow from hearts and lips of those bearing costly sacrifice.
Christian thanksgiving is the life of Christ in the heart — transforming the disposition and the whole character. Thanksgiving must be wrought into the life as a habit—before it can become a fixed and permanent quality. We must persist in being thankful. When we can see no reason for praise—we must believe in the divine love and goodness and sing in the darkness. “Thanksgiving has attained its rightful place in us, only when it is part of all our days and dominates all our experiences.” J. R. Miller
“But, grateful eyes truly do see grace and goodness, even in the most difficult and unattractive packages. The Gratitude Syndrome makes you desire what you already have rather than always needing to have what you think you desire. Gratitude makes life’s horizon bright and big rather than dark and distant. It turns what you have into more than enough.” Jennifer Rothschild
We have something to be grateful for in Christ who died for us and was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit and ascended into Heaven where He is praying for us always. There is always something that you can say to someone to encourage them even those that we view as strong. Seek always to encourage at every opportunity.
Andrew
